A peek behind the masks

"If we could find constructional components with similar patterns in future excavations in Sanxingdui, we would have a clearer understanding."

With the discovery of a gold scepter, a bronze sun wheel worshipping a sun god-both found in 1986-and gold masks, a connection with the tomb of the contemporaneous Tutankhamen in Egypt was also formed by a curious public.

However, Sun rules out the possibility due to distance and supporting evidence that suggests otherwise, but adds that cross-border comparative studies will better show the importance of the Sanxingdui Ruins during the Bronze Age.

Sanxingdui Ruins has great global significance for archaeology and prehistoric studies, as the artifacts unearthed have revealed a complex society, religion, and civilization, Giuliano Volpe, an Italian archaeologist who, in recent years, has been participating in joint research in Sichuan, told China Radio International.

But for Lei, his biggest hope now is to find written characters in the pits.

After all, as the Sanxingdui site is deeply influenced by the Shang Dynasty, which created the earliest known Chinese written characters via the 3,300-year-old oracle bones, maybe the best way to clear up some of these mysteries is to refer to words.

"We've just started and there are many possibilities," he says. "Thanks to Sanxingdui studies, we'll gradually come to understand how Chinese civilization originated and a mixture of different cultures united."