Jinsha Archaeological Site

Chengdu, Sichuan

The Jinsha site was discovered in 2001, in the western suburbs of Chengdu. It is named after a nearby street. Flourishing from about 1200 - 500 BC, Jinsha was an unwalled town that belonged to the Sanxingdui culture, and rose to prominence after the type-site's decline. The excavators have found over 800 graves and a great profusion of artifacts in gold, ivory, jade, bronze, and stone. The site is now enclosed, and its artifacts are displayed in a nearby museum (following pages). As with other recent finds in China, the exploitation of the site has proceeded with a rapidity that would be unimaginable in other parts of the world.