Peking University, April 8, 2022: On March 31, 2022, Piluo site and Sanxingdui Ruins site  in Daocheng, Sichuan and Guanghan, Sichuan were successfully selected into the “2021 Top Ten New Archaeological Discoveries in China” from more than 1,700 candidate projects. The two projects were carried out jointly by Peking University (PKU) School of Archaeology and Museology and Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Institute  (SCKG). Since the commencement of the awards in 1990, the archaeology faculty and students of PKU have participated in 34 awarded projects, ranking first among universities in China.

Piluo site

The Piluo Paleolithic site, located in Daocheng County, Sichuan Province, is a rare large-scale Paleolithic wilderness site with diverse cultural types found on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In 2020, Zheng Zhexuan, a 2007 alumnus of PKU School of Archaeology and Museology, discovered the Piluo site during a special survey of Paleolithic archaeology in the Western Sichuan Plateau. From April to November 2021, a joint archaeological team by PKU and SCKG systematically excavated the Piluo Site, covering an area of 200 square meters and obtaining many important discoveries.


Relying on the holistic archaeological disciplinary system of PKU School of Archaeology and Museology and the multi-disciplinary advantages of PKU, on-site excavation and following comprehensive research of the Piluo site have received all-round support from PKU, including the creation of a research team including scientific and technological archaeology and ancient DNA. Professors from PKU School of Archaeology and Museology and PKU College of Urban and Environmental Sciences contributed in specific domains.


According to the preliminary optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating results by the Chronology Laboratory of PKU College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, the age of the upper strata of Piluo site is no later than 130,000 years ago. The excavation revealed 7 successive cultural layers, and more than 7,000 stone artifacts were obtained, among which it was suspected that there were important relics like petroglyphs. Taken together, these relics display the development process of Paleolithic culture in general and exhibit the coherent sequence of development for Paleolithic culture in Sichuan & Southwest China. More importantly, newly unearthed tools at the Piluo site, ranging from hand axes, thin-blade axes to hand picks, are now the world’s highest-altitude finding of Acheulean technology remains. This provides crucial new evidence in the exploration of the origin, distribution, and dissemination of Acheulean technology and the cultural exchange of related ancient humans in East Asia.


Sanxingdui Ruins site

The Sanxingdui Ruins site, with an area of about 12 square kilometers, is located in the western suburbs of Guanghan City, Sichuan Province. In 1986, the No.1 and No. 2 sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui site were discovered and attracted great attention within academic circles. At the end of 2019, Lei Yu, and Ran Honglin, 1980 and 2006 alumnus of PKU School of Archaeology and Museology respectively, discovered 6 new sacrificial pits, numbered K3-K8, while working in the field. In March 2020, SCKG started a new round of archaeological excavations and formed a joint archaeological team with research units from PKU School of Archaeology and Museology.


So far, the total excavation area spans 1,202 square meters, within which archaeologists have already identified the distribution range and internal layout of numerous sacrificial pits and artifacts. Moreover, based on the examination of stratigraphic relationships, unearthed artifacts and Carbon-14 dating, it was initially concluded that pits K3, K4, K7, and K8 date back to 3000 to 3200 years ago, while pits K5 and K6 date back further.  

In this fieldwork, the PKU Sanxingdui Archaeological Team was led by associate professor Zhao Hao and were directly responsible for the excavation of K8 pit. At present, over 5,200 cultural relics and fragments were unearthed from the pit. Meticulous work by PKU archaeologists reveal a large number of new phenomena and artifacts, including the largest giant standing bronze beast (大型青铜立人神兽) to date and bronze altars used in ceremonies of the ancient Shu civilization. Other relics containing cultural components of the ancient kingdom of Shu, the Central Plains and other parts of China were also discovered.


The successful implementation of Sanxingdui archaeological project shows the fruits of PKU’s high-level strategy of talent training in archaeology. As the first Chinese university to establish standardized archaeological teaching and research, PKU has delivered a large number of outstanding talents to archaeological undertakings across China. In the Sanxingdui project, PKU graduates helmed key roles in major participators like SCKG, Sichuan University, and Shanghai University. As field work continues, PKU School of Archaeology and Museology will continue on with its partner units to further excavation and research of the Sanxingdui site.


Besides the 2 PKU archaeological projects selected, another 4 projects entered the preliminary selections. In the past 70 years, archaeology at PKU has adhered to the value of “Educating one in the field and cultivating one in practice” to conduct professional education. Archaeologists at PKU have passed the torch from one generation to the next, whether it be toiling in the fields or teaching on campus. Combining moral education and professional research, they have created a “PKU model” that will continue to lead the advances of Chinese archaeology.

Written by: Fu Jiaqi
Edited by: Li Wanqi
Source: PKU News (Chinese)