Massive Pyramid, Lost City and Ancient Human Sacrifices Unearthed in China

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Live Science


By Owen Jarus, Live Science Contributor | August 23, 2018 08:00am ET

- click for image -

https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMS80MTcvb3JpZ2luYWwvY2hpbmVzZS1weXJhbWlkLWNvcHkuanBn

This figure shows images of the step pyramid. a) part of the stone buttresses of the second and the third steps of the pyramid; b) eye symbols that decorate the pyramid c) a view of the buttresses under excavation; d) a general view of the pyramid before excavation.
Credit: Zhouyong Sun and Jing Shao


A 4,300-year-old city, which has a massive step pyramid that is at least 230 feet (70 meters) high and spans 59 acres (24 hectares) at its base, has been excavated in China, archaeologists reported in the August issue of the journal Antiquity.

The pyramid was decorated with eye symbols and "anthropomorphic," or part-human, part-animal faces. Those figures "may have endowed the stepped pyramid with special religious power and further strengthened the general visual impression on its large audience," the archaeologists wrote in the article. [The 25 Most Mysterious Archaeological Finds on Earth]

For five centuries, a city flourished around the pyramid. At one time, the city encompassed an area of 988 acres (400 hectares), making it one of the largest in the world, the archaeologists wrote. Today, the ruins of the city are called "Shimao," but its name in ancient times is unknown.

The pyramid contains 11 steps, each of which was lined with stone. On the topmost step, there "were extensive palaces built of rammed earth, with wooden pillars and roofing tiles, a gigantic water reservoir, and domestic remains related to daily life," the researchers wrote.

Read more: https://www.livescience.com/63406-massive-shimao-pyramid-unearthed-china.html?utm_source=notification

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(Ordinarily, this should go in the Science forum. I posted it in LBN because it is so amazing, as I see it.)

[BumRushDaShow]

1. That's pretty amazing!

And I expect it will become a World Heritage Site too.

Thanks for posting!

[LuvNewcastle]

2. This is an amazing find.

I've read that Chinese authorities don't exactly encourage excavation of ancient sites. Supposedly, China is covered with pyramids, the earth-made kind more than any other. The Chinese government have restricted access to many of the sites and they're reticent about making public statements about the them. I hope the Chinese government will loosen their restrictions and allow more people to dig and report their findings. All of these ancient sites could bring a lot of tourism to their country.

[left-of-center2012]

3. Thanks for posting

Love these kind of stories.

[Hortensis]

4. 4300 yo! It is amazing. Thanks for posting, Judi Lynn.

[Mrs. Overall]

5. Thank you for posting this!

[ms liberty]

6. K&R. So cool. Thanks for posting! n/t

[C Moon]

7. And now they sacrifice dogs. :(

[McCamy Taylor]

8. Not sure how they can say they were sacrifices. Maybe that was how they buried their dead.

Burned the bodies and saved the heads.

[muriel_volestrangler]

10. Signs the skulls were hit, in a mass grave, and they think they were from another city

6 pits, one containing nearly 30 heads, is not how you bury "normal" deaths. You don't normally have 30 people to bury at once.

Some of the victims may be from another archaeological site called Zhukaigou, which is located to the north of Shimao, and the people of Shimao may have conquered the neighboring site. "Morphological analysis of the human remains suggests that the victims may have been related to the residents of Zhukaigou, which could further suggest that they were taken to Shimao as captives during the expansion of the Shimao polity," the study said.

From an article about the site 5 years ago:

70 to 80 skulls from young women have also been found. It is believed they were killed and subsequently buried in a mass grave here. "The skulls show signs of being hit and burned. This collective burial might also have something to do with the founding ceremony of the city," Sun said.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/cultureexpress/20130827/101799.shtml

[not fooled]

9. Perhaps it's

an ancient version of Foxconn, giant edifice, human sacrifices and all.

[joe_stampingbull]

11. This is older than the Xia dynasty

which is supposed to be mythical. The Xia dynasty began in 2070 BCE. This one is hundreds of years older.