On March 31, the results of the top ten new archaeological discoveries in China in 2021 were announced, and the Gangshang Ruins in Tengzhou, Shandong Province, and the Sacrifice Area Project of the Guanghan Sanxingdui Ruins in Sichuan Province, which were excavated and protected by teachers and students of Shanghai University, were both selected as the "Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries". At the archaeology forum of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences held recently, the list of six archaeological projects newly discovered in Chinese archaeology in 2021 was announced, among which the Sichuan Guanghan Sanxingdui Site Sacrifice Area Project, in which teachers and students of our university participated in the excavation and protection, was also listed.
The annual selection of "China's Six New Archaeological Discoveries" and "National Top Ten Archaeological New Discoveries" is sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, respectively, and the award selection takes into account both academic and social attention, and is an important window for popularizing, disseminating and displaying the achievements of archaeological work.
The archaeological excavations of the Sanxingdui Shang Dynasty Ruins Sacrifice Area and the Gangshang Ruins are all major projects of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage "Archaeology in China", which are of great significance for exploring the origin of civilization and understanding the historical context. The awards and selections of sanxingdui sites and gangshang sites are not only a high recognition of the academic and cultural value of the sites, but also a positive affirmation of the training of archaeological scientific research and archaeological talents in our university.
Immerse yourself in the exploration of Sanxingdui
There are highlights in scientific archaeology
Located in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province, the Sanxingdui site is one of the most important pre-Qin sites in southwest China. Following the discovery of two sacrificial pits that shocked the world in 1986, since the end of 2019, Sanxingdui has discovered six more sacrificial pits, and more than 10,000 cultural relics such as gold, bronze, jade and pottery have been excavated.
Among them, Shanghai University cooperated with the Sichuan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology to excavate the No. 3 sacrifice pit, and the excavation work began on January 3, 2021 and ended on October 23, 2021, and a large number of cultural relics were unearthed. According to the preliminary arrangement, including 1321 relatively complete cultural relics and 102 relatively complete ivory pieces, many of which are bronze top statues kneeling, bronze altars, bronze round mouth square statues, giant bronze masks, sacred tree pattern jade and other national treasure-level cultural relics, which are the well-deserved focus of this excavation.
The excavation of the sanxingdui new sacrifice pit is the most technological excavation work in Chinese archaeology so far. The Institute of Basic Sciences of Cultural Heritage Protection of Shanghai University and the Science and Technology Archaeology Laboratory of the School of Cultural Heritage and Information Management actively cooperated with the cultural relics protection and scientific and technological archaeology needs of the new sacrifice pit, and participated in the on-site protection and extraction of relics, the analysis of relics components, the identification of phytosilicates, the protection of soil sites, and microbial monitoring, etc., with remarkable results and affirmed by many parties.
The excavation of the new sacrifice pit in Sanxingdui has aroused great attention from mainstream media such as CCTV, and three rounds of large-scale live broadcast reports have been carried out so far. During the live broadcast, Pit No. 3 became the focus of live broadcast due to its good progress and rich excavated relics, triggering heated discussion on the Internet and creating the highest record of public attention to major national archaeological projects.
The new round of excavation of the Sanxingdui site not only promotes the study of the sacrifice rituals and sacrifice system of the Sanxingdui site and the ancient Shu civilization, but also further explains the basic understanding that the ancient Shu civilization is an important part of Chinese civilization.
The great discovery of the gangshang ruins
Delve into ancient civilizations
Located in Tengzhou City, Shandong Province, the Gangshang Site is the largest Dawenkou cultural site ever discovered in the Haidai area. From September 2020 to January 2022, the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology excavated the site continuously, with a total excavation area of about 1,100 square meters, and found extremely rich remnants of the middle and late Dawenkou culture, including a circle of rammed earth walls and trenches, 31 tombs, 7 housing sites and a large number of column pits or pillar holes related to the site, and a large number of precious cultural relics such as jade, stone tools, pottery, bone horns and so on were unearthed.
From September to December 2020, teachers and students of the School of Cultural Heritage and Information Management of Shanghai University participated in the archaeological work of the Gangshang site, excavating 10 tombs from the Dawenkou period, and several ruins such as housing sites, ash pits, and ash ditches. The professional, pragmatic and efficient work of the masters and students has been affirmed by the leaders and colleagues of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the Shandong Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. The excavation of the Gangshang site has revealed the key nodes of the origin of Chinese civilization and the formation of early states in haidai area, which is of great significance for elucidating the social complexity of Haidai area in the middle and late Neolithic era, and has laid an important cornerstone for the study of the process of ancient social civilization.
Innovation empowers the new liberal arts
A new chapter in the great archaeological exhibition
Shanghai University is one of the earliest universities in China to offer archaeology and cultural and cultural science majors, and is the main base for the teaching and research of archaeology and research in East China and the training of archaeology and cultural talents. In recent years, with the support of the Shanghai Municipal Government and the school, the archaeology team of Shanghai University has formed a talent echelon with reasonable structure and distinctive characteristics, approved the first undergraduate major in archaeology in Shanghai, formed high-level research institutions including the International Association museum research and exchange center, the Silk Road Cultural Relics Science and Technology Innovation Alliance, the China Overseas Cultural Relics Research Center of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, and successfully hosted the "World Archaeology Shanghai Forum", won a number of national, provincial and ministerial scientific and technological progress awards, and was approved as a national key research and development program project. Important projects such as key projects of the Natural Science Foundation and major projects of the Social Science Foundation have initially formed a matrix of disciplines with influence at home and abroad.
In the process of the construction of the archaeology major of Shanghai University, adhering to the new liberal arts development concept, emphasizing the integration of arts and sciences, domestic and international integration and the integration of teaching, scientific research and social services, the whole process and all-round field archaeology are regarded as the most important academic growth points and education and training centers. Under the framework of innovative "provincial-university cooperation", the archaeology major of Shanghai University actively participates in the archaeological work of Shanghai, Shandong, Hunan, Sichuan, Henan, Shanxi and other provinces and cities.
In the archaeological work, the archaeology team of our university actively promotes the integration of science and education, collaborative education, and puts the cultivation of high-level archaeological talents in the first place, so that undergraduate and graduate students can participate in the front-line archaeological excavation, protection and collation of important sites in the whole process and at close range.
Shanghai University has listed "Archaeology and Cultural Protection" as one of the five major positions of the "Fifth Five-Year Strategy" of the 14th Five-Year Plan of the University, and increased support for the protection, excavation and display of major projects in marine archaeology, mountain archaeology, silicate cultural relics protection, stony cultural relics protection and archaeology, which is an important measure to build a new liberal arts model in the archaeological science.
Shanghai University's participation in the excavation, protection and display of the Gangshang Site and the Sanxingdui Site is precisely the new achievements, new highlights and new breakthroughs in the construction of the five major positions. During the excavation process, a number of school leaders visited the archaeological site for many times to inspect the work and provide guidance and condolences, encouraging the teachers and students of the archaeological team of Shanghai University not to forget to continue the cultural genes, and to protect history and inherit civilization with practical actions.
With the establishment of the Faculty of Cultural Heritage and Information Management
The Archaeology Team at Shanghai University will continue to work hard
Rooted in the fields
Keep in mind the mission of archaeologists
For the construction of Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, Chinese style archaeology
Contribute to Shanghai's strength
Condensed Shanghai plan
Build the Shanghai School