# Sanxingdui and its sacrificial pits > Sanxingdui, near Guanghan in Sichuan, is the largest Bronze Age site of the upper Yangtze. Eight pits dug there about 3,200 to 3,000 years ago hold more… Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-27T17:48:14+00:00 --- **MYS** 0D739RH44236·Mystery · site # Sanxingdui and its sacrificial pits **0** [Follow][Ask a question](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=sanxingdui) Sanxingdui and its sacrificial pits ![​戴金面具辮髮青銅人頭像，古蜀國遺物，42.5釐米高，20.5釐米寬。1986年廣漢三星堆遺址二號坑出土，四川廣漢三星堆博物館收藏。拍攝於中國國家博物館「古蜀華章——四川古代文物菁華展」。](https://mysteriesdept.com/media/folio/sanxingdui-lead) Cyclohexane233 · CC BY-SA 4.0 Where Northwest of Guanghan, Deyang, Sichuan, China⁠[[1]] Site occupation About 4400 to 3000 BP⁠[[1]] Pits Eight; Pits 1 and 2 in 1986, Pits 3–8 in 2019–2022⁠[[1]] Pit date About 3200 to 3000 BP, all of one period⁠[[1]] Objects Over 18,000 from the eight pits; about 13,000 from the six new pits⁠[[1]] Largest mask Bronze, 74 cm high and 135 cm wide⁠[[7]] Status Partly explained Questions 1 of 4 answered People [**He Xiaoge** Archaeologist; author of the 2025 and 2026 studies of the bronzes](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/people/FIG0D739SR66159/he-xiaoge)[**Ran Honglin** Archaeologist, Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology; first author of the 2025 report on the new pits](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/people/FIG0D739SGC4A1P/ran-honglin) Catalog key**MYS** 0D739RH44236 Sanxingdui lies on the Chengdu Plain northwest of Guanghan, in Sichuan. It is the largest and best-preserved Bronze Age site of the upper Yangtze, occupied from about 4400 to 3000 BP⁠[[1]]. In 1986 two pits packed with bronzes, gold and jade were found; between 2019 and 2022 excavators found six more. Together the eight pits have produced more than 18,000 objects, and they appear to date to the same period, about 3200 to 3000 BP, the time of the late Shang dynasty on the Central Plain⁠[[1]]⁠[[2]]. Many of the objects have no parallel elsewhere: bronze heads, masks, trees and mythical creatures, and a figure with a human head on a snake's body. Others, such as the zun and lei vessels, resemble Shang bronzes from the middle and lower Yangtze⁠[[2]]⁠[[1]]. Many were broken or burned before they were buried, and the people who made them left no writing⁠[[2]]. The pits are usually read as the remains of sacrifices, but that is an interpretation, and some scholars argue instead that they are the buried regalia of a destroyed polity⁠[[3]]. Where the bronzes were made, and whether their metal came from the same sources as Shang bronze, are being tested on the casting cores and lead isotopes⁠[[1]]⁠[[4]]. Of the 4 questions on this site, 1 are answered. The most likely answer to “Where were the Sanxingdui bronzes made, and where did their metal come from?”, not yet confirmed: heads, masks and trees were cast locally; the zun and lei vessels were made in the middle or lower Yangtze…. ### Key questionsset by the editors [**Where were the Sanxingdui bronzes made, and where did their metal come from?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739W6A6ACC/where-were-the-sanxingdui-bronzes-made-and-where-did-their)Most likely: heads, masks and trees were cast locally; the zun and lei vessels were made in the middle or lower Yangtze… [**Why were the Sanxingdui objects broken, burned and buried?** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739VYG5PHX/why-were-the-sanxingdui-objects-broken-burned-and-buried)Most likely: the objects were offerings, broken and burned in rites and buried in the sacrificial area [All 4 questions ](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=sanxingdui) ## The site The site lies on the Chengdu Plain. The pits are in an area the excavators call the sacrificial area, within a larger Bronze Age site. No bronze-casting workshop has yet been found at Sanxingdui or anywhere else in Sichuan⁠[[1]]⁠[[5]]. [![The eight pits of the sacrificial area](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/b3903d3d678fe23f3f86d01e0642641f598d95021dc3bb1aeaa5b059c3029617/w800)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A5F61VEP/the-eight-pits-of-the-sacrificial-area) The eight pits of the sacrificial areaBairuilong, 1986. CC BY-SA 4.0[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A5F61VEP/the-eight-pits-of-the-sacrificial-area) Jinsha, about 30 miles (50 km) away in modern Chengdu, has similar objects and is often seen as the place the Sanxingdui people moved to after the site declined⁠[[2]]. **Map of the area** [Open the full map](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/map) [Area][Region] [+][−] 1 **Sanxingdui** Bronze Age walled settlement and sacrificial area Within 1 km 2 **Sanxingdui Museum, Guanghan** Museum Within 100 m 3 **Jinsha, Chengdu** Bronze Age site Within 1 km MappedWithin 1 kmNatural Earth ### Timeline **Timeline** Squeezed where little happened. Each mark is a published claim, by how it stands:AcceptedMost likelyStill possibleDisputedRuled out ## What was found Pits 1 and 2, excavated in 1986, held over 900 bronzes among other finds⁠[[1]]⁠[[6]]. The six new pits produced about 13,000 objects, including 1,238 bronzes, 543 gold objects and 565 jades in the counts announced in 2022, a bronze altar about 0.9 m high, a bronze box with a tortoise-shaped lid and a jade inside, apparently once wrapped in silk, and a figure with a human head and snake's body⁠[[2]]. The largest bronze mask is 74 cm high and 135 cm wide⁠[[7]]. Excavation reports for Pits 3, 7 and 8 appeared in 2024 and 2025, and the excavators published an English overview in 2025⁠[[8]]⁠[[9]]. [![The 1986 bronzes from Pits 1 and 2 (standing figure, heads, masks and trees)](https://mysteriesdept.com/files/v/666f2b4a9be52c849659337cfb01f347c75f5e5edead444be7ade97ba3320646/w800)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A6EE2H2P/the-1986-bronzes-from-pits-1-and-2-standing-figure-heads) The 1986 bronzes from Pits 1 and 2 (standing figure, heads, masks and trees)Gary Todd, 1986. CC0[Artifact ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A6EE2H2P/the-1986-bronzes-from-pits-1-and-2-standing-figure-heads) Many objects in the pits were broken or burned before burial, which the excavators read as ritual treatment⁠[[2]]. ## What is known Date. The excavators place all eight pits in one period, about 3200 to 3000 BP, on the basis of radiocarbon dating, including a published series for Pit 4⁠[[1]]⁠[[5]]⁠[[10]]. Where the bronzes were made. Casting cores from 39 bronzes in Pits 1 and 2 fall into groups. Cores from non-vessel objects such as heads, masks and trees contain carbonate-rich material comparable to local soils and sediments, and these objects were probably cast near Sanxingdui. Cores from the zun and lei vessels differ from local materials and match cores from casting sites in the middle and lower Yangtze⁠[[1]]. Metal source. Lead isotope analyses since 1995 show highly radiogenic lead in all tested Sanxingdui bronzes, vessels and non-vessels alike, the signature found in over 60% of more than 800 analysed bronzes from late Shang sites⁠[[11]]⁠[[12]]⁠[[1]]. Sanxingdui drew on the same metal network as the Shang even when it cast in its own style. ## The explanations Sacrifice. The usual reading is that the pits hold offerings from rites in which objects were broken, burned and buried. He Xiaoge divides the bronzes into two assemblages, one used in rites of communication with another world and one in other rites⁠[[13]]⁠[[2]]. Destruction of a polity. Some scholars read the pits as "pits of a destroyed state": the regalia and cult images of a regime, smashed and buried after conquest or overthrow⁠[[3]]. Ritual decommissioning. A third possibility, not argued in detail in the sources gathered here, is the disposal of a temple's furnishings when they were replaced or the centre moved; it would fit the move to Jinsha that some archaeologists infer from similar objects there⁠[[2]]. Natural disaster. Fan Niannian and colleagues proposed that an earthquake about 3,000 years ago dammed and diverted the river, forcing a move to Jinsha; this addresses the abandonment, not the pits⁠[[14]]. ### Published claims **Published claims and their status** | Year | Who | Claimed | Status | Reason | |---|---|---|---|---| | 2014 | Niannian Fan and colleagues⁠[14] | An earthquake about 3,000 years ago set off landslides that dammed and diverted the river, and the people of Sanxingdui moved to Jinsha. | Still possible | Presented at a conference and reported in the press; it explains the abandonment, not the pits, and has not been tested against dated river deposits⁠[14]. | | 2022 | Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology⁠[15] | Radiocarbon dating places the pits in the late Shang period, about 3,200 to 3,000 years ago. | Accepted | Consistent with the published Pit 4 series and accepted in later studies, though no model of the dates from all eight pits is in print⁠[1]. | | 2022 | Archaeologists reported by Smithsonian Magazine⁠[2] | Jinsha, about 50 km away in Chengdu, is where the Sanxingdui people moved after the site declined. | Still possible | Rests on the similarity of objects at the two sites; why and when the move happened is not established⁠[14]. | | 2023 | Ran Honglin and the Sanxingdui excavation team⁠[16] | Pits K5 and K6 were used for sacrifices, while the other pits were burial pits for ritual objects. | Still possible | The excavators' reading; whether the objects were offered, retired or destroyed in a conquest is still argued⁠[13]. | | 2025 | Huiru Lian, Xiaotian Zeng and colleagues⁠[1] | Heads, masks and trees were cast near Sanxingdui, while the zun and lei vessels were made in the middle or lower Yangtze. | Most likely | Based on 39 casting cores from Pits 1 and 2; no casting workshop has yet been found in Sichuan to confirm local production⁠[1]. | | 2025 | Huiru Lian, Xiaotian Zeng and colleagues⁠[1] | All tested Sanxingdui bronzes, vessels and non-vessels alike, contain the highly radiogenic lead found in most late Shang bronzes. | Accepted | The pattern holds in lead isotope studies since 1995, so Sanxingdui drew on the same metal network as the Shang⁠[1]. | | 2025 | He Xiaoge⁠[13] | The bronzes fall into two assemblages, one used in rites communicating with another world and one in other rites. | Still possible | An interpretive framework not yet tested against the full inventories of the new pits⁠[13]. | ## What would settle it Whether all eight pits were filled at once or over generations: a published Bayesian model of the radiocarbon dates from every pit, together with refits of broken fragments between pits, would show whether the burials were one event or a series. Fragments that join across pits would point to one destruction. How the objects were destroyed: the temperatures and sequence of burning, from the bronze and soil, and whether objects were broken before or after burning, would separate a rite from a sack. A full lead isotope and alloy dataset for the new pits, released openly, would test whether different object classes drew on different metal⁠[[1]]⁠[[4]]. ## Questions 1 of 4 questions are answered. **Key questions** [All 4](https://mysteriesdept.com/questions/key-questions?mystery=sanxingdui) **0** [Where were the Sanxingdui bronzes made, and where did their metal come from?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739W6A6ACC/where-were-the-sanxingdui-bronzes-made-and-where-did-their) 1 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: heads, masks and trees were cast locally; the zun and lei vessels were made in the middle or lower Yangtze… **0** [Why were the Sanxingdui objects broken, burned and buried?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739VYG5PHX/why-were-the-sanxingdui-objects-broken-burned-and-buried) 0 of 1 sub-questions answered·0 Most likely: the objects were offerings, broken and burned in rites and buried in the sacrificial area ## Evidence 12 findings [Why were the Sanxingdui objects broken, burned and buried?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739VYG5PHX/why-were-the-sanxingdui-objects-broken-burned-and-buried)5 findings [The objects were offerings, broken and burned in rites and buried in the sacrificial area.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D739WXR5CJX/the-objects-were-offerings-broken-and-burned-in-rites-and)Most likely +[Pits lie together in an area the excavators call the sacrificial area.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739X5J0KZ5/pits-lie-together-in-an-area-the-excavators-call-the)Supported +[Traces of bamboo, reeds, soybeans, cattle and boar accompany the objects, read as offerings.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739XDC52QS/traces-of-bamboo-reeds-soybeans-cattle-and-boar-accompany)Suggestive +[The bronzes fall into two assemblages matching rites of communication with another world and other rites.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739XN65Z31/the-bronzes-fall-into-two-assemblages-matching-rites-of)Suggestive [The pits hold the regalia and cult images of a regime, destroyed and buried after conquest or overthrow.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D739XX00M3W/the-pits-hold-the-regalia-and-cult-images-of-a-regime)Still possible +[All eight pits are placed in one period, about 3200–3000 BP.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739Y4T55M1/all-eight-pits-are-placed-in-one-period-about-32003000-bp)Suggestive [The objects were ritually retired when a temple was refurbished or the centre moved, and buried with care.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D739YCM34J6/the-objects-were-ritually-retired-when-a-temple-was)Still possible +[Jinsha, about 50 km away, has similar objects and is seen as the next centre.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739YME085J/jinsha-about-50-km-away-has-similar-objects-and-is-seen-as)Suggestive [Where were the Sanxingdui bronzes made, and where did their metal come from?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739W6A6ACC/where-were-the-sanxingdui-bronzes-made-and-where-did-their)3 findings [All the bronzes were cast locally at or near Sanxingdui.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D739Z4236YM/all-the-bronzes-were-cast-locally-at-or-near-sanxingdui)Disputed −[Vessel cores (Groups B and C) differ from local natural samples and match middle and lower Yangtze casting sites.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739ZBW6RKG/vessel-cores-groups-b-and-c-differ-from-local-natural)Supported [Heads, masks and trees were cast locally; the zun and lei vessels were made in the middle or lower Yangtze…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D739ZKP4JM4/heads-masks-and-trees-were-cast-locally-the-zun-and-lei)Most likely +[39 casting cores from Pits 1 and 2 form groups by object class; non-vessel cores match local materials, vessel cores match Yangtze casting sites.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D739ZVG0KQH/39-casting-cores-from-pits-1-and-2-form-groups-by-object)Supported [The vessels were custom-made at the Shang capital Anyang and sent to Sanxingdui.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D73A03A52W4/the-vessels-were-custom-made-at-the-shang-capital-anyang-and)Disputed −[Vessel cores align with middle and lower Yangtze casting cores rather than with other sites compared.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D73A0B4291P/vessel-cores-align-with-middle-and-lower-yangtze-casting)Suggestive [Did Sanxingdui share its metal source with the Shang?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739WE46E8Z/did-sanxingdui-share-its-metal-source-with-the-shang)2 findings [Sanxingdui bronzes use the same highly radiogenic lead source as late Shang bronzes.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D73A0TR25RP/sanxingdui-bronzes-use-the-same-highly-radiogenic-lead)Most likely +[All tested Sanxingdui bronzes, vessels and non-vessels, show highly radiogenic lead.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D73A12J3N5N/all-tested-sanxingdui-bronzes-vessels-and-non-vessels-show)Supported +[Over 60% of more than 800 analysed late Shang bronzes show the same signature.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D73A1AC1QDS/over-60-of-more-than-800-analysed-late-shang-bronzes-show)Supported [Why was Sanxingdui abandoned?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/questions/QST0D739WNY79DE/why-was-sanxingdui-abandoned)2 findings [An earthquake about 3,000 years ago triggered landslides that diverted the river, and the people moved to…](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D73A1T01XFV/an-earthquake-about-3-000-years-ago-triggered-landslides)Still possible +[Terrace walls and sediment evidence indicate an earthquake and floods sometime between 3,330 and 2,200 years ago.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D73A21T03P1/terrace-walls-and-sediment-evidence-indicate-an-earthquake)Speculative [Political change, such as conquest or the rise of a new centre at Jinsha, ended Sanxingdui.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/answers/ANS0D73A29M5YFK/political-change-such-as-conquest-or-the-rise-of-a-new)Still possible +[Similar objects at Jinsha suggest the community moved there.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/evidence/EVD0D73A2HE3SXF/similar-objects-at-jinsha-suggest-the-community-moved-there)Suggestive ## Artifacts The films, photos, papers and objects this mystery rests on, each with its own key and its distance from the original. **Artifacts** [See all 16](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts) Photo1 step from object [Largest bronze mask from the new pits (74 × 135 cm)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A40A0G2M/largest-bronze-mask-from-the-new-pits-74-135-cm) press photographs of the excavation · publisher Photo1 step from object [Bronze figure with a human head on a snake's body, holding a lei, with a zun on its head](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A4847Y61/bronze-figure-with-a-human-head-on-a-snakes-body-holding-a) press photographs of the excavation · publisher Photo1 step from object [Bronze box with tortoise-shaped lid and jade inside](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A4FY4CB6/bronze-box-with-tortoise-shaped-lid-and-jade-inside) press photographs of the excavation · publisher Document2 steps from object [Casting-core samples from 39 bronzes in Pits 1 and 2](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A4QR4C1K/casting-core-samples-from-39-bronzes-in-pits-1-and-2) Lian and colleagues · publisher Photo1 step from object [The eight pits of the sacrificial area](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A5F61VEP/the-eight-pits-of-the-sacrificial-area) Bairuilong · CC BY-SA 4.0 Photo1 step from object [The 1986 bronzes from Pits 1 and 2 (standing figure, heads, masks and trees)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts/ART0D73A6EE2H2P/the-1986-bronzes-from-pits-1-and-2-standing-figure-heads) Gary Todd · CC0 [See all 16 artifacts](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/sanxingdui/artifacts) ## See also [ **Göbekli Tepe** A mound in south-eastern Turkey with carved stone pillars of the 10th millennium BC. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/gobekli-tepe) [ **Stonehenge** A stone monument on Salisbury Plain built in stages from about 3000 to 2500 BC. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/stonehenge) [ **Great houses of Chaco Canyon** Multi-storey great houses built by Ancestral Puebloans in New Mexico, AD 850 to 1150. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/chaco-canyon) [ **Nebra Sky Disc** A bronze disc inlaid with gold sun, moon and stars, dug up by looters in 1999. ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/nebra-sky-disc) ## References 1. 1.[Lian, H., Zeng, X., Liang, P. et al. 2025. Deciphering the origins of Sanxingdui bronzes through petrographic and elemental analysis of casting cores. Journal of Archaeological Science 178, 106212.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739MVY6VCB/deciphering-the-origins-of-sanxingdui-bronzes-through)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2025.106212)cited 25 times here**SRC** 0D739MVY6VCB 1. 2.[Solly, M. 2022. Trove of 13,000 Artifacts Sheds Light on Enigmatic Chinese Civilization. Smithsonian Magazine.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739NV63J28/trove-of-13-000-artifacts-sheds-light-on-enigmatic-chinese)cited 12 times here**SRC** 0D739NV63J28 1. 3.[Tang 2021. 'Sacrificial pits' or 'pits of a destroyed state': the clash of views behind Sanxingdui archaeology (“祭祀坑”还是“灭国坑”). Meicheng Zaijiu (Orientations, Chinese edition) 2021(3), 6–.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739QSP3TWD/sacrificial-pits-or-pits-of-a-destroyed-state-the-clash-of)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D739QSP3TWD 1. 4.[He, X. 2026. Bronze manufacture at Sanxingdui: Technological experimentation and knowledge exchange in Bronze Age China. Archaeological Research in Asia 48, 100740.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739NBJ0B83/bronze-manufacture-at-sanxingdui-technological)[doi](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2026.100740)cited 3 times here**SRC** 0D739NBJ0B83 1. 5.[Archaeological Team of the Sacrificial Area of the Sanxingdui Site 2022. The Sacrificial Area of the Sanxingdui Site in Guanghan City, Sichuan Province (四川广汉市三星堆遗址祭祀区). Kaogu (Archaeology) 2022(7), 15–33.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739Q282C0Z/the-sacrificial-area-of-the-sanxingdui-site-in-guanghan-city)cited 4 times here**SRC** 0D739Q282C0Z 1. 6.[Xu, J. 2001. Bronze at Sanxingdui. Bagley, R. (ed.), Ancient Sichuan: Treasures from a Lost Civilization (Seattle Art Museum / Princeton University Press), 59–.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D739R1G6YG6/bronze-at-sanxingdui)cited 2 times here**SRC** 0D739R1G6YG6 1. 7.[Xie, E. 2022. 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