Origins of our journey

Unearthed in the Jinsha Ruins, a 14.6-cm standing bronze figure is on display in Exhibition Hall No 3 at the Jinsha Site Museum.

The figure is highly similar to the 180-cm-tall standing bronze figure found in the No 2 pit of the Sanxingdui Ruins.

Although there is nothing in their fists, both figures seem to be holding something and are standing as if presiding over a holy and important ceremony. They both have a square face and a hole in the earlobe.

Researchers think that both bronze figures might represent the chief sorcerer or the king of the ancient Shu Kingdom, or both.

In an obscure corner of Exhibition Hall No 3 at the Jinsha Site Museum, a jade god-man head sculpture looks similar to a piece unearthed at the Sanxingdui Ruins.

With a height of 2.3 cm, a width of 3.4 cm and a thickness of 0.26 cm, this jade object shows the profile of a god-man head. Wearing a decorative hat, the ferocious image has a long eyebrow, a triangle eye, a crooked nose, and a big mouth revealing three teeth. The lower end of this object was broken; researchers presume that it should have a long neck, to be fixed on a certain article as a decoration.