The Enigmatic Hejin City Fortress: Unveiling China’s Ancient Mystery

Hidden deep within the heart of China lies the Hejin City Fortress, an ancient and mysterious structure that has stood for over a millennium. Despite its formidable appearance, the origins and the very identity of its builders remain shrouded in mystery. Local inhabitants have lived in its shadow for centuries, yet even they are left pondering who constructed this monumental fortress and why. This enduring enigma has baffled historians, archaeologists, and locals alike, prompting a deeper exploration into its fascinating yet elusive past.

The Geographic Setting

The Hejin City Fortress is nestled in the Hejin region of Shanxi Province, located on the northern banks of the Yellow River. The area’s strategic location—at the confluence of major water routes and surrounded by mountainous terrain—suggests that the fortress was deliberately constructed here as a defensive stronghold. The Yellow River, often referred to as the "Mother River of China," has played a pivotal role in the development of Chinese civilization. Its proximity to the fortress further hints at the site's historical significance, possibly as a control point for river traffic or as a buffer zone against northern invasions.

Architectural Features: A Testament to Ancient Ingenuity

One of the most striking aspects of the Hejin City Fortress is its architecture. The structure is built with massive stone walls, some sections reaching heights of over 10 meters (33 feet). The construction techniques showcase advanced knowledge of masonry and fortification design, yet the precise methods and tools used remain a topic of debate. The walls are reinforced with a combination of earthworks and stone blocks, suggesting a blend of different architectural traditions that are difficult to trace to a single known civilization.

The fortress layout is particularly intriguing. It features a series of interlocking walls and towers, designed to maximize defense against external threats. The gates are narrow and strategically placed, making it difficult for large invading forces to enter. The design appears to be a hybrid of Chinese and potentially nomadic influences, blending the defensive style seen in ancient Chinese cities with elements reminiscent of the northern steppe cultures.

Theories on the Builders: Who Constructed Hejin Fortress?

The mystery of the Hejin City Fortress lies not only in its physical form but also in the obscurity of its creators. Several theories have emerged over the years, each attempting to solve this ancient puzzle:

1. Local Dynastic Builders: One prevailing theory is that the fortress was constructed during the Tang or early Song Dynasty (7th to 11th century CE) as a defensive measure against invasions from the north. During these periods, China was frequently at odds with various nomadic tribes, such as the Khitans and later the Jurchens. The strategic placement of the fortress suggests that it may have served as a military outpost to protect the interior regions from incursions.

2. Northern Nomadic Tribes: Another compelling theory posits that the fortress was actually built by one of the powerful nomadic tribes that roamed the northern borders of ancient China. The Xiongnu, Xianbei, or even the Khitans could have constructed the fortress as a stronghold during their incursions into Chinese territory. The fortress's design elements, which bear similarities to steppe fortifications, lend some weight to this hypothesis.

3. A Mysterious Lost Civilization: Some researchers suggest the possibility of a lost or little-known culture that predates the well-documented Chinese dynasties. This theory hinges on the fortress’s unusual construction techniques and its distinct blend of architectural styles, which do not perfectly align with known Chinese or nomadic methods. If true, the Hejin City Fortress could be a rare and invaluable relic of an ancient civilization that once thrived along the Yellow River but left behind little in the way of written records.

The Lack of Historical Records

Despite its imposing presence, historical records mentioning the Hejin City Fortress are conspicuously absent. Ancient Chinese historians, who meticulously documented many aspects of military and political history, make no direct reference to its construction. This silence has only fueled speculation, with some suggesting that the fortress may have been deliberately omitted from records due to its sensitive military nature or its association with an unknown, possibly rival group.

Recent Archaeological Investigations

In recent years, archaeological teams have begun to explore the Hejin City Fortress more intensively, hoping to uncover clues that could shed light on its origins. Excavations have revealed remnants of pottery, tools, and other artifacts that offer tantalizing hints about the people who may have lived or worked in the fortress. However, these findings have yet to provide definitive answers. The artifacts suggest a complex cultural interaction, pointing to influences from both Chinese dynastic and nomadic traditions.

Carbon dating of the materials found on-site has placed the construction of the fortress somewhere between the late Tang Dynasty (around the 9th century CE) and the early Song Dynasty (10th-11th centuries CE). Yet, this timeline remains broad, and the lack of definitive inscriptions or written records complicates efforts to pinpoint a specific builder.

The Fortress in Local Folklore

Among the local populace, the fortress is often referred to as the "Ghost Fortress" or "The Hidden Citadel." Stories passed down through generations speak of a powerful warlord or king who built the fortress to protect a lost treasure or sacred relic. Others tell of an ancient tribe that vanished mysteriously, leaving only the fortress as a silent testament to their once-great power. These legends, while likely embellished over time, add a layer of mystique that continues to captivate both residents and visitors.

The Legacy of the Hejin City Fortress

Today, the Hejin City Fortress stands as a stark reminder of China’s rich and often enigmatic past. Its stone walls bear silent witness to centuries of history, conflict, and cultural exchange. Despite the efforts of archaeologists and historians, the true story behind its construction remains a mystery. It serves as a symbol of the many layers of history that lie hidden beneath the surface of modern China, waiting to be uncovered.

As research continues, the Hejin City Fortress may yet yield its secrets, offering new insights into ancient China's complex interactions with its neighbors and the mysterious cultures that once thrived along the banks of the Yellow River. Until then, it remains one of the country’s most fascinating and enduring historical enigmas—a fortress without a name, standing against the tide of time.

China: Well-Preserved Warring States Period Swords And Cultural Relics Discovered In Xiangyang, Hubei

The rich tapestry of China's history is once again brought to light with a recent groundbreaking archaeological discovery in Xiangyang, Hubei. Researchers have unearthed a treasure trove of artifacts from the Warring States Period, shedding new light on this pivotal era in Chinese history.

The Discovery

In the heart of China, archaeologists have excavated hundreds of tombs and relics, including a significant number of bronze swords, chariots, and other cultural objects dating back to the Warring States period [1], [5]. This period, known for its political fragmentation and warfare, was also a time of profound cultural and philosophical development.

The site in Xiangyang is particularly notable for the well-preserved state of the swords and other artifacts, offering a unique window into the craftsmanship and military practices of the time. Archaeologists believe that this excavation provides new resources for examining funeral customs and the social structure of the Xiangyang region during the Warring States period [2].

The Tombs

The archaeological team has uncovered a total of 176 tombs, with the majority dating from the Warring States period and two from the Han Dynasty. This large-scale cemetery discovery is among the most significant for this period in recent years, highlighting the importance of the region as a cultural and political center during ancient times [3], [4].

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Cultural Significance

The artifacts found at the site, particularly the bronze swords, offer insights into the technological advancements and artistic achievements of the era. Additionally, the discovery of chariot burials underscores the importance of warfare and status in Warring States society. This new discovery in Xiangyang not only enhances our understanding of the martial culture of the time but also provides valuable data for studying the broader societal and cultural dynamics of the Warring States period [6].

The discovery in Xiangyang is a significant addition to our knowledge of the Warring States period, offering fresh perspectives on the social structures, warfare, and cultural practices of ancient China. As researchers continue to analyze the artifacts and data gathered from this site, we can expect to gain deeper insights into the complexities of this fascinating era in Chinese history.

This latest discovery underscores the richness of China's archaeological heritage and the potential for future finds to further illuminate the complexities of its ancient past.

Untouched Ming Dynasty Vassal King's Tomb Unearthed in Xinfu District of China

In the serene environs of Xinfu District, China, a monumental discovery has brought the Ming Dynasty's intricate history back into the limelight. Archaeologists, during their meticulous excavations near Hexitou village, have unveiled a vast and untouched tomb attributed to a vassal king from the Ming Dynasty. This remarkable find, undisturbed over centuries, offers a unique window into the lifestyle, customs, and governance of one of China's most celebrated eras.

Spanning over 1,000 square meters, the tomb's grandeur is undeniable. The site includes two burial chambers, several niches, and a stone tomb gate, all preserved in remarkable condition. The discovery of such an intact site is rare, providing archaeologists with an unparalleled opportunity to study Ming Dynasty funerary practices and the socio-political landscape of the period.

Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute

The tomb's contents are as significant as its scale. Artifacts unearthed include pottery, jade, intricate carvings, and other valuable objects that attest to the wealth and status of their occupants. These finds are not only artistic treasures but also cultural artefacts that offer insights into the daily life, beliefs, and artistic achievements of the Ming Dynasty.

This discovery is a testament to China's rich historical tapestry and the ongoing efforts to preserve and understand its past. As excavations continue, each artifact brings us closer to comprehending the complexities of the Ming Dynasty's societal structures, beliefs, and interactions with neighboring states. This untouched tomb of a vassal king in Xinfu District is more than an archaeological milestone; it is a bridge to the past, revealing the stories of those who shaped the history of one of the world's oldest civilizations.

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Greco-Buddhist Art: A Fusion of Eastern and Hellenistic Traditions

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BY DIMOSTHENIS VASILOUDIS

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Greco-Buddhist art stands as a remarkable testament to the intermingling of classical Greek culture with Buddhism, marking a significant chapter in the annals of art history. This unique artistic tradition, known as Greco-Buddhism, emerged from a fascinating blend of Eastern and Western cultural elements, flourishing over a span of nearly a millennium. From the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century AD, Greco-Buddhist art developed across Central Asia, showcasing the depth and breadth of cultural syncretism.

The inception of Greco-Buddhist art can be traced back to the Hellenistic Greco-Bactrian kingdom, established in what is now Afghanistan between 250 BC and 130 BC. The establishment of the Indo-Greek kingdom from 180 BC to 10 BC further accelerated the spread of Hellenistic culture into the Indian subcontinent during this time period. It was in the Gandhara region of today's northern Pakistan that the melding of Greek and Buddhist cultures reached its zenith, under the auspices of the Indo-Greeks and later the Kushans. Gandhara became the cradle of Greco-Buddhist art, from which its influence radiated into India, impacting the art of Mathura and subsequently the Hindu art of the Gupta empire. This latter influence extended throughout Southeast Asia, while Greco-Buddhist art also made its way northward, leaving its mark on the Tarim Basin and ultimately influencing the arts of China, Korea, and Japan.

Characterized by the strong idealistic realism and sensuous depiction inherent to Hellenistic art, Greco-Buddhist art is renowned for introducing the first human representations of the Buddha. This pivotal development not only helped define the artistic and sculptural canon of Buddhist art across Asia but also served as a bridge between the aesthetic ideals of the East and the West. The portrayal of the Buddha in human form, imbued with the grace and precision of Greek sculpture, lent a new dimension to Buddhist iconography, enriching its symbolic and emotional depth.

The synthesis of Greek and Buddhist elements in art manifested in various forms, including sculpture, architecture, and relief art. The sculptures from this period are particularly notable for their elaborate drapery, reminiscent of Greek god statues, combined with the serene, contemplative facial expressions characteristic of Buddhist art. This blend of Greek artistic techniques with Buddhist iconography and themes resulted in a distinctly new style that had a lasting impact on the development of Buddhist art throughout Asia.

Greco-Buddhist art serves as a powerful example of cultural syncretism, illustrating how artistic expressions can transcend geographical and cultural boundaries to create new, hybrid forms. This artistic tradition not only highlights the interconnectedness of ancient civilizations but also underscores the role of art as a universal language capable of bridging diverse cultures. As such, Greco-Buddhist art remains a fascinating area of study for historians, archaeologists, and art enthusiasts alike, offering insights into the dynamic exchanges between the civilizations of the ancient world.

In conclusion, Greco-Buddhist art represents a significant cultural and artistic phenomenon, embodying the fusion of Eastern and Western traditions. Its legacy continues to influence and inspire the artistic landscape of Asia, serving as a testament to the enduring power of cultural exchange and the universal language of art.

28 Shang Dynasty Tombs Discovered in China

In a remarkable archaeological discovery, Chinese archaeologists have unearthed 28 tombs that offer a fascinating glimpse into the burial customs and rituals of the Shang Dynasty. These tombs, dating back to the II millennium BC, were found in the urban district of Anyang, located in the historical heartland of Henan Province, China. This extraordinary find sheds new light on the funerary practices of high-ranking aristocrats, their families, and even their loyal servants, giving us a unique opportunity to explore the rich cultural tapestry of ancient China.

A Discovery Beyond the Ancient City of Yin

The significance of this discovery cannot be overstated. Until now, most Shang Dynasty tombs had been found within the confines of the ancient city of Yin, the capital of the Shang Kingdom. However, these newly discovered tombs are situated outside the city's ruins, adding a fresh dimension to our understanding of the Shang civilization.

Cui Zongliang, Vice President of the Shenyang Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, expressed his excitement about this find. He noted that this marks the first time such tombs have been discovered beyond the city of Yin, which had long been the epicenter of Shang Dynasty archaeology.

An aerial photo of the cemetery excavated at the Dapo ruins site in the city of Anyang, central China's Henan Province.

Revealing Ancient Funeral Traditions

One of the most intriguing aspects of this discovery is the opportunity it presents to delve deeper into the funeral traditions of the Shang Dynasty. As a kingdom that thrived during the II millennium BC, Shang was deeply rooted in the veneration of deceased ancestors. The tombs discovered in Anyang provide a wealth of information about how these rituals were practiced and how they evolved over time.

The tombs are believed to belong to high-ranking aristocrats, and they contain not only the remains of the aristocrats themselves but also those of their family members, servants, and even animals. This comprehensive approach to burial sheds light on the societal structure of the Shang Dynasty and the importance of familial ties in their culture.

Unveiling the Shang Dynasty

The Shang Dynasty, located in what is now modern-day China, holds a special place in history as one of the earliest recorded dynasties. It flourished during a time when many ancient civilizations were in their infancy. The dynasty's religious and cultural practices, including oracle bone script, bronze casting, and ancestor worship, have left an indelible mark on Chinese culture.

The discovery of these 28 tombs in Anyang is a testament to the enduring fascination of archaeology and the mysteries of ancient civilizations. It serves as a reminder that there is much more to uncover about our shared human history. As scholars and archaeologists continue to unearth the secrets of the past, we gain a deeper appreciation for the diverse tapestry of cultures that have shaped our world.

This remarkable find in China offers a window into the world of the Shang Dynasty, allowing us to connect with a civilization that thrived thousands of years ago. It is a testament to the importance of preserving our archaeological heritage and a celebration of the enduring human spirit in the pursuit of knowledge.

Liqian: A city founded in China by Roman legionaries?

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL EDITOR GROUP

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Did Roman Legionaries Find a City in China?

In the annals of history, tales of lost legions and ancient encounters between disparate civilizations have always captured the imagination. The city of Liqian in China stands as a testament to such a captivating historical mystery—could it have been founded by Roman legionaries, remnants of a once-mighty army lost to the annals of the East?

The monument that graces Liqian depicts a Chinese and a Roman figure in mutual greeting, a symbolic representation of a tale that intertwines the fates of the Roman and Chinese empires. This beguiling narrative finds its roots in the aftermath of the Battle of Carrhae in 53 BC, where the Romans suffered a devastating defeat at the hands of the Parthians. Ancient chroniclers like Pliny and Horace recount the tale of a captured legion, condemned to toil in the mines of Margiana or to serve as human bulwarks along the distant borders.

Source: Antiokhos in the East

Yet, it is a Chinese chronicle penned twenty years later that fuels this enduring legend, describing foes with combat formations echoing the Roman testudo—a tactical formation resembling a tortoise shell. Could these have been the Roman soldiers, somehow integrating into the fabric of Chinese military might?

The plot thickens with linguistic intrigue. 'Liqian' was once a name used by the Chinese to refer to Rome or the Hellenistic cities before adopting the term 'Daqin.' Some posit that 'Liqian' could be a linguistic corruption of 'Alexandria,' suggesting a deeper Hellenic connection.

Despite the romanticism of such theories, empirical evidence remains elusive. Archaeological excavations in Liqian have yet to yield any artifacts that betray a Mediterranean heritage. The famed testudo formation could have been adopted by another, non-Roman force, effectively dismantling the basis for asserting a Roman presence.

Skeptics argue that the notion of Roman origins may be a modern contrivance, an inventive ploy to stimulate tourism through the erection of commemorative monuments and the weaving of alluring legends. Thus, the enigmatic origins of Liqian remain shrouded in myth, a confluence of historical coincidence and creative interpretation rather than substantiated fact.

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As it stands, the story of Liqian is a patchwork of ancient texts and modern desires, a reflection of our yearning to connect dots across time and space. Until incontrovertible evidence comes to light, the legend of the Roman legionaries in China remains just that—a legend, as ephemeral and intriguing as history itself.

Experts Restore With High-Technology Xi'an's Terracotta Warriors

The dedicated experts at the Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum in Xi'an, China, are undertaking a meticulous mission to restore the world-famous Terracotta Warriors, likening their work to operating a 'hospital' for these ancient relics. Lan Desheng, a restoration specialist at the museum, leads this critical conservation effort.

It has been established through archaeological studies that the Terracotta Warriors were once adorned with colorful pigments. However, these layers are incredibly delicate, and exposure to varying humidity and temperature levels upon excavation leads to rapid dehydration and flaking of the painted surface. Compounding this issue are the deteriorating effects of microorganisms and soluble salts that contribute to the fading of colors.

To combat these challenges, Lan's team employs a suite of sophisticated techniques. Each warrior undergoes a thorough diagnostic process that includes X-ray detection, ultrasonic scanning, and 3D imaging. Restorers then use an array of tools, such as bamboo slips, scalpels, and small brushes, to delicately clean and repair the painted fragments.

Further personalizing their approach, every terracotta figure is assigned its own identification number, ensuring detailed tracking and tailored restoration work. Over recent years, this careful process has led to the successful restoration of over 140 warriors.

The Terracotta Army, unearthed in 1974 and declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, stands as a monumental creation by Emperor Qinshihuang of the Qin Dynasty (221 B.C.–207 B.C.), symbolizing the artistry and might of ancient China. The ongoing conservation work not only preserves this historical treasure but also provides insights into the scientific and cultural practices of restoration, safeguarding the legacy for future generations to study and admire.

The Mysterious Sword Of Goujian - Ancient China

The Sword of Goujian was discovered in 1965 in Hebei Province and is estimated to be around 2,500 years old. It is known for its unusual sharpness and incredible resistance to tarnish. The sword was found in a tomb along with a human skeleton and was sheathed in a wooden scabbard finished with black lacquer, which helped to preserve it.

The sword's chemical composition, mainly made of copper and with a high sulfur content, made it more pliant and less likely to shatter, as well as harder and capable of keeping a sharper edge. The video also provides a brief overview of the Spring and Autumn periods in Chinese history, during which the sword was likely made.

The Terracotta Army: An Archaeological Treasure of China

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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Unveiling the Terracotta Army: A Look into the Reign of Emperor Qin

Thousands of life-size terracotta statues depicting soldiers and horses date back to the third century BCE and are collectively referred to as the Terracotta Army or the Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses. Farmers in the Lintong District of Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, stumbled upon the army in 1974. The find has helped shed light on ancient Chinese history and culture, earning it a place among the top archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century.

The Terracotta Warriors and Horses were built in 210 B.C. to guard the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China. As the first emperor of China, Emperor Qin is remembered for bringing the country's warring states under one unified rule. The Great Wall of China and the Grand Canal are just two of his many famous building projects.

Farmworkers in the Lintong District, China, uncovered the Terracotta Army while digging a well. They discovered a terracotta warrior statue that was nearly life-size, prompting the dispatch of archaeologists. Soldiers, horses, chariots, and weapons were among the thousands of terracotta statues discovered by the team. Three pits, each about 200 meters in length and 5 meters in depth, were dug to house the statues' final resting places. Chariots and weapons were placed at the rear of the formation, and the soldiers and horses were lined up in battle formation.

Hollow molding, a technique used in pottery that involves shaping clay before firing it at high temperatures, was used to create the statues. Each of the terracotta soldiers has their own distinct expression, hairstyle, and outfit. This points to the statues being based on actual military personnel.

There are a variety of reasons why the Terracotta Army is such a rare and significant find in ancient China. First, it's a great resource for learning about ancient Chinese society and culture. The Qin army is a representation of the military might of the Qin empire as well as the high level of craftsmanship and artistic achievement of the period. The ancient Chinese concepts of death and the afterlife are partially revealed through the statues.

Secondly, the construction methods and materials used by the Qin empire have been partially revealed thanks to the discovery of the Terracotta Army. The statues were made by combining clay with straw and other materials and firing it at high temperatures. The statues were protected for over two thousand years thanks to the materials and methods used to preserve them.

In conclusion, the Terracotta Army is another major Chinese tourist attraction. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the location is accessible to the public. Several of the statues have been dug up from their original burial sites and put on display in a museum after the site was excavated and restored.

To sum up, the Terracotta Army is an important archaeological find that sheds light on China's past and culture. The army is a representation of the strength of the Qin Empire's armed forces, the sophistication of its artisans, and the ancient Chinese view of death and the afterlife. The discovery has also illuminated the building practices and materials of the Qin dynasty. Visitors from all over the world continue to be fascinated and amazed by the Terracotta Army, making it another major Chinese tourist attraction.

Divers found a perfectly preserved ancient Chinese underwater city

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BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

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After being flooded in 1959, the Chinese city of Shicheng was left in obscurity. Divers may now explore a 600-year-old metropolis that has been submerged and unseen for decades thanks to its recent rediscovery.

The underwater city of Shicheng, frequently referred to as the "Atlantis of the East" by tourists, is a stunning, enigmatic time capsule of Imperial China. A perfectly preserved piece of stone architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which ruled from 1368 to 1912, is located 40 meters beneath Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang province, 400 kilometers south of Shanghai.

Shicheng, which in Mandarin means "Lion City," was purposefully flooded in 1959 to make room for the Xin'an Dam and its adjacent hydropower facility, unlike the legendary Atlantis. For the project, about 300,000 people were evacuated, some of them had families who had been residing in the city for centuries.

As the Chinese government organized an expedition to see what could be left of the long-lost metropolis, the city was "rediscovered" in 2001. When the Chinese National Geography published some previously unseen images and graphics in 2011 speculating how the small city, which measured approximately half a square kilometer, may have appeared in its heyday, interest and exploration surged even further.

Expeditions and underwater images have shown that the city had five entrance gates instead of the usual four, with gates facing the other cardinal directions as well as two in the west. The city's wide alleys include 265 archways with surviving stonework of lions, dragons, phoenixes, and historical inscriptions; the city walls are said to have been constructed in the 16th century. Some of these inscriptions date as far back as 1777.

Shicheng has been beautifully conserved despite being submerged; in fact, the water shields it from wind, rain, and sun degradation. Advanced divers can now take regular dives between April and November with dive companies like Big Blue and Zi Ao Dive Club to get up close to the ruins. The dive is only available to divers with deep water, night, and buoyancy experience because the ruins have not yet been completely mapped.

Ancient Lady Dai: The Most Perfectly Preserved Mummy Ever Discovered

Scientists perform an autopsy on the best preserved mummy ever discovered: that of a Han aristocrat named Lady Dai (Xin Zhui). More than 2,000 years after her death her skin is still resilient and her veins are still red. What can her remains tell us about life in ancient China?

Xin Zhui [ɕín ʈʂwéɪ] (Chinese: 辛追; c. 217 BC–168 or 169 BC), also known as Lady Dai, or Marquise of Dai, was a Chinese noblewoman, and wife to Li Cang (利蒼), the Marquis of Dai, and Chancellor of the Changsha Kingdom, during the Western Han dynasty of ancient China. Her tomb, containing her well-preserved remains and 1,400 artifacts, was discovered in 1968 at Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, China. Her body and belongings are currently under the care of the Hunan Museum; artifacts from her tomb were displayed in Santa Barbara and New York City in 2009. Her body is notable as being one of the most well preserved mummies ever found.

2100 Years Old, Lady Dai's Mummy Is Still In Unbelievable Shape. Image credit: Gary Todd/Flickr/Public Domain

In 1968, workers digging an air raid shelter for a hospital near Changsha unearthed the tomb of Xin Zhui, as well as the tombs of her husband and a young man who is most commonly thought to be her son. With the assistance of over 1,500 local high school students, archaeologists began a large excavation of the site beginning in January 1972. Xin Zhui's body was found within four rectangular pine constructs that sat inside one another which were buried beneath layers of charcoal and white clay. The corpse was wrapped in twenty layers of clothing bound with silk ribbons.

In the tomb of Xin Zhui, four coffins of decreasing sizes enclosed one another. The first and outermost coffin is painted black, the color of death and the underworld. All painted images sealed inside this coffin were thus designed not for an outside viewer but for the deceased and concern the themes of death and rebirth, protection in the afterlife, and immortality. The second coffin has a black background but is painted with a pattern of stylized clouds and with protective deities and auspicious animals roaming an empty universe. A tiny figure, the deceased woman, is emerging at the bottom center of the head end. Only her upper body is shown, for she is about to enter this mysterious world. The third coffin exhibits a different color scheme and iconography. It is shining red, the color of immortality, and the decorative motifs include divine animals and a winged immortal flanking three-peaked Mount Kunlun, which is a prime symbol of eternal happiness. Inside this tomb on top of the fourth and innermost coffin the excavators found a painted silk banner about two meters long.

Yellow and black feathers are stuck on the cover board of the coffin. The feathers stuck to the coffin were expressing the hopes that Xin Zhui would grow feathers on the body and enter the heavens to become immortal.

A reconstruction of Lady Dai (or 'Xin Zhui' (辛追) of the Western Han Dynasty.

Xin Zhui's body was remarkably well preserved in an unknown fluid inside the coffin. Her skin was soft and moist, with muscles that still allowed for her arms and legs to flex at the joints. All her organs and blood vessels were also intact, with small amounts of Type A blood being found in her veins. There was hair on her head, with a wig pinned with a hair clasp on the back of her head. There was skin on her face, and her eyelashes and nose hair still existed. The tympanic membrane of her left ear was intact, and her finger and toe prints were distinct. This preservation allowed doctors at Hunan Provincial Medical Institute to perform an autopsy on 14 December 1972. Much of what is known about Xin Zhui's lifestyle was derived from this and other examinations. As a member of the nobility, her body would have been washed with fragrant water and wine, which has antibacterial properties. Xin Zhui's body was soaked in an unknown liquid that was acidic, which may have helped preserve the body by preventing bacteria from growing. Many scientists believe that the fluid is water from the body, rather than liquid poured into the coffin.

More than 1,400 precious artifacts were found with Xin Zhui's body including a wardrobe containing 100 silk garments, 182 pieces of expensive lacquerware, makeup and toiletries and 162 carved wooden figurines representing servants. In Western Han Dynasty, elaborate and lavish burials were common practice; it was believed that another world, or afterlife, existed for the dead, and they needed food and accommodation just like the living and the necessities in life should be brought into the grave for use in the afterlife. The importance of filial piety during that time also resulted in a lavish burial with many artifacts.

The Ruins of Khara-Khoto in the middle of the Gobi Desert

KAUSHIK PATOWARY, AMUSING PLANET

In the westernmost banner of Inner Mongolia, in the middle of the Gobi Desert, there once stood a prosperous kingdom. It was a center of religious learning, of art and a trading hub. But all that remains now are the crumbling ramparts that once protected the city, a few shattered mud buildings, and scattered sun-bleached bones.

Khara-Khoto, or “black city” in Mongolian was founded in 1032 AD as the capital of the Western Xia Dynasty (1038–1227) and soon rose to become a thriving trade hub. The city was captured by Genghis Kahn in 1226, but instead of laying to waste as the Khan's Golden Horde usually did to captured cities, Khara-Khoto actually flourished under Mongol rule. During Kublai Khan's time, the city expanded to three times its original size, and was even mentioned by Marco Polo in his travelogue by its Tangut name of Etzina:

When you leave the city of Campichu you ride for twelve days, and then reach a city called Etzina, which is towards the north on the verge of the Sandy Desert; it belongs to the Province of Tangut. The people are Idolaters, and possess plenty of camels and cattle, and the country produces a number of good falcons, both Sakers and Lanners. The inhabitants live by their cultivation and their cattle, for they have no trade. At this city you must needs lay in victuals for forty days, because when you quit Etzina, you enter on a desert which extends forty days' journey to the north, and on which you meet with no habitation nor baiting-place.

Under the Mongols, the Tangut people were able to enjoy peaceful existence for nearly 150 years, until the Ming dynasty laid siege to the city in 1372. No one knows exactly how Khara-Khoto fell, but local legend states that the cunning Ming rulers diverted the Ejin River, the city's only water source, that flowed just outside the fortress thus denying the city’s troops and inhabitants of the life-giving elixir. As the Ming troops choked the city without ever needing to set foot inside of its walls, the people of Khara-Khoto realized that they must make a terrible choice: die of thirst, or face the Ming soldiers in combat.

A Mongol military general named Khara Bator supposedly became so crazed by this plight that he murdered his wife and children before committing suicide. There is another version of the rumor that holds that Khara Bator made a breach in the northwestern corner of the city wall and escaped through it. When the Ming soldiers finally attacked, they slaughtered not only the remaining population but all the cattle and horses. After this defeat, Khara-Khoto was abandoned and fell into ruins.

The site was rediscovered in the early 20th century by a Mongol-Sichuan expedition under the command of Russian explorer Pyotr Kuzmich Kozlov. During its initial excavation, the expedition uncovered over 2,000 books, scrolls and manuscripts in the Tangut language. These treasures were sent back to St. Petersburg along with Buddhist statues, texts, and woodcuts that were found in a stupa outside of the city walls. Further excavation produced many thousand more manuscripts, books, as well as daily items, production instruments and religious art. Many of these books and xylographs formed the basis for research of the Tangut language, written in Tangut script in subsequent years.

Now all that remains of this great city are 30-feet-tall ramparts, a few 40-feet high pagodas, and what appears to be a mosque just outside the city walls, indicating that there were Muslims among the people that were ruled by the Tangut.

3,000-Year-Old Mythical Bronze Creature Unearthed in China

A large mythical creature cast in bronze, among other relics, was found Wednesday at Sanxingdui, an archaelogical site in southwest China. The artifact, weighing 330 pounds with a length and height of 3 feet, is the largest and most complete animal-shaped bronze unearthed at the site.

The massive animal has a sacred tree engraved on its chest and a horn on its head with a bronze statue of a man standing on it. The figure’s thin frame is clothed in a long robe. Archaeologists believe the man might be trying to control the mythical creature.

Sanxingdui is a Bronze Age site in the Sichuan region of China. It was first uncovered in 1986, though locals had found evidence of ancient cultures there as early as 1927. The site has been linked with the ancient kingdom of Shu, which existed up until 316 B.C.E. The most important finds at the site center around a series of sacrificial pits filled with thousands of gold, bronze, jade, and other artifacts.

“Since the first excavation at Sanxingdui in 1986, the unearthed mythical beasts have been smaller in size, only about 20 to 30 centimeters long,”  Zhao Hao, a team member from No. 8 pit’s excavation, told China Global Television Network. “The tree is engraved directly on it and can be seen as Sanxingdui people’s worship of the sacred tree, or has taken the sacred tree as a kind of divine presence.”

Of the roughly 14,000 artifacts uncovered at the 3,000-year-old sacrificial pits at Sanxingdui, this artifact is the first of its kind.

The work of archaeologists excavating sacrificial pit No. 8 is expected to be completed between late September and early October. The team plans to focus subsequent efforts on research and restoration.

Excavations at Sanxingdui have yielded a number of rare finds, including a bronze box and altar, and two millennia-old gold masks within the last year alone.

The Forgotten Tomb of The First Chinese Emperor Remains An Unopened Ancient Treasure

Despite being engaged in one of the biggest archaeological discoveries of all time, the tomb of China’s first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, remains mostly shut off and undiscovered by archaeologists and historians. For thousands of years, the odd and deadly history of the tomb and its contents remained shut within and hidden beneath vegetation. The two decades after 218 BC were tumultuous in the Mediterranean as the Roman Republic waged war with the Carthaginians. In contrast, the Far East had relative stability during this time, as a united China emerged from the turbulence of the Warring States Period. Qin Shi Huang was the man who brought the seven warring kingdoms together to become China’s first imperial empire. The first Chinese emperor was as preoccupied with life as he was with the hereafter. Qin Shi Huang was busy building his mausoleum while he was searching for the elixir of immortality. A 2017 analysis of ancient documents inscribed on hundreds of wooden slats indicates the emperor’s power and desire to live forever. The artifact comprises Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s executive edict for a statewide quest for the elixir of life, as well as responses from local administrations. One town, “Duxiang,” reported that no magical elixir had yet been discovered there, but promised the emperor that they would keep looking. Another location, “Langya,” claimed to have discovered a plant on an “auspicious local mountain” that might accomplish the trick. The building of the emperor’s tomb, in reality, began long before Qin Shi Huang became the first Chinese emperor. When Qin Shi Huang was 13 years old, he ascended the Qin throne and began constructing his everlasting burial place. However, the full-scale building would not commence until Qin Shi Huang effectively united China in 221 BC, when he commanded a total of 700,000 men from throughout the kingdom. The tomb, which is located in Lintong County, Shaanxi Province, took over 38 years to build and was not completed until several years after his death.

Qin Shi Huang was China’s first emperor

Sima Qian, a Han dynasty historian, wrote the Records of the Grand Historian, which includes an account of the building and a description of Qin Shi Huang’s tomb. This account claims that Qin Shi Huang’s mausoleum had “palaces and picturesque towers for a hundred officials,” as well as countless rare artifacts and valuables. Furthermore, the two great Chinese rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow River were replicated in the tomb using mercury. The rivers were likewise programmed to flow into the big sea. While the rivers and other aspects of the area were depicted on the tomb’s floor, the roof was adorned with celestial stars. As a result, Qin Shi Huang could govern over his kingdom even after death. To safeguard the tomb, the emperor’s artisans were tasked with creating traps that fired arrows at anybody who entered.

Sima Qian, a historian, is seen in this oil painting

Qin Shi Huang’s burial was led by his son, who ordered the execution of any of the late emperor’s concubines who did not have sons. This was done in order to keep Qin Shi Huang company in the afterlife. After the burial rites, the inner tunnel was shut and the outside gate was lowered, trapping all the artisans inside the tomb. This was done to prevent the workings of the mechanical traps and knowledge of the tomb’s valuables from being revealed. Finally, trees and flora were planted atop the tomb to give it the appearance of a hill.

Emperor Qin Shi Huang’s tomb is covered with greenery and resembles a hill.

Although a written record of Qin Shi Huang’s tomb existed nearly a century after the emperor’s death, it was only rediscovered in the twentieth century (whether the tomb has been robbed in the past, however, is unknown). A group of farmers drilling wells in Lintong County in 1974 unearthed a life-size terracotta warrior from the ground. This was the start of one of the most important archaeological discoveries in history. Approximately 2000 terracotta soldiers have been discovered during the previous four decades. However, it is thought that between 6000 and 8000 of these troops were buried with Qin Shi Huang. Furthermore, the terracotta army is only the tip of the iceberg, since the emperor’s tomb has yet to be uncovered.

Terracotta Warriors and Horses is a group of statues portraying the forces of Qin Shi Huang, China’s first Emperor. China’s Xi’an.

Several sophisticated artifacts have been discovered surrounding the site, including this chariot and horses discovered outside the burial mound.

It seems doubtful that Qin Shi Huang’s tomb will be unveiled anytime soon. To begin, there are the booby traps reported by Sima Qian in the tomb. Despite being almost two millennia old, it has been asserted that they would still work as well as the day they were placed. Furthermore, the presence of mercury would be extremely dangerous to anyone who entered the tomb without proper protection. Most significantly, our current technology would be unable to deal with the sheer size of the subterranean complex and the preservation of the excavated artifacts. The terracotta soldiers, for example, were once beautifully painted, but exposure to air and sunshine caused the paint to chip off almost instantly. Archaeologists are unlikely to risk accessing the tomb of China’s first emperor until additional technical advances have been achieved.

Original Source: https://ancientlife.net/the-forgotten-tomb-of-the-first-chinese-emperor-remains-an-unopened-ancient-treasure-8502/

The History of Writing: Tracing the Development of expressing Language by Systems of Markings

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by dimosthenis vasiloudis

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Protowriting, ideographic systems, or early mnemonic symbols came before more advanced writing systems in the evolution of writing in human societies (symbols or letters that make remembering them easier).

A subsequent development is true writing, in which the content of a spoken language is encoded so that another reader may reasonably reconstruct the identical utterance written down. It differs from proto-writing, which frequently forgoes recording grammatical words and affixes, making it harder or even impossible to reassemble the precise meaning intended by the writer unless a substantial amount of context is already known in advance.

Writing innovations

The idea that writing originated in a single civilization and was called "monogenesis" persisted for a long time. According to academics, all writing originated in Mesopotamia's ancient Sumer and spread around the world as a result of cultural diffusion. This argument holds that traders or merchants traveling between geographical locations passed on the idea of representing language by written signs, though perhaps not necessarily the specifics of how such a system operated.

The finding of ancient Mesoamerican scripts, far from Middle Eastern sources, demonstrated, however, that writing had been created more than once. In at least four ancient civilizations, including Mesopotamia (between 3400 and 3100 BCE), Egypt (about 3250 BCE), China (1200 BCE), and lowland portions of southern Mexico and Guatemala, writing may have independently originated (by 500 BCE).

Some academics have suggested that ancient Egypt "The earliest authentic examples of Egyptian writing differ from Mesopotamian writing in both structure and style, indicating that they must have emerged independently. Although there is still a chance that Mesopotamian "stimulus dispersion" occurred, the influence could not have extended beyond the dissemination of an idea."

Because there is no evidence of communication between ancient China and the Near Eastern literate civilizations, as well as because Mesopotamian and Chinese approaches to phonetic representation differ, it is thought that ancient Chinese characters are independent creations.

The Vinča symbols.

The Rongorongo script of Easter Island, the Vina symbols from about 5500 BCE, and the Indus script of the Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization are all controversial. Since none have been translated, it is unclear if they all represent real writing, protowriting, or something entirely different.

The earliest coherent texts date from around 2600 BCE, and Sumerian archaic (pre-cuneiform) writing and Egyptian hieroglyphs are usually regarded as the earliest authentic writing systems. Both developed out of their ancestors' proto-literate symbol systems between 3400 and 3100 BCE. The Proto-Elamite script belongs to roughly the same time frame.

writing methods

Writing systems are distinct from symbolic communication systems. For most writing systems, reading a text requires some knowledge of the spoken language that goes along with it. In contrast, it's not always necessary to have a prior understanding of a spoken language to use symbolic systems like information signs, paintings, maps, and mathematics. Every human group has its own language, which is thought by many to be a natural and essential aspect of mankind.

Writing system development has been intermittent, uneven, and delayed, and old oral communication systems have only been partially replaced. Writing systems generally develop more slowly after they are formed than their spoken counterparts and frequently preserve traits and idioms that have been lost to the spoken language.

Three writing standards are thought to apply to all writing systems. First, writing must be comprehensive; it must have a meaning or purpose, and it must make a point or be able to convey that message. Second, whether they are physical or digital, all writing systems must include some kind of symbol that can be created on a surface. In order to facilitate communication, the writing system's symbols must resemble spoken words or speech.

The greatest advantage of writing is that it gives society a way to regularly and thoroughly preserve information—something that the spoken word could not previously do as successfully. Writing enables communities to communicate knowledge, transmit information, and

stages of development

Sumer

An ancient civilization of southern Mesopotamia, is believed to be the place where written language was first invented around 3200 BCE.

Beginning with the Neolithic pottery phase, when clay tokens were used to keep track of particular quantities of animals or other goods, writing first appeared. These tokens were initially imprinted on the exterior of spherical clay envelopes, which were later used to keep them. Afterwards, flat tablets were gradually introduced in place of the tokens, and signs were recorded using a stylus. Towards the end of the fourth millennium BCE, Uruk was where actual writing was first discovered. Other areas of the Near East quickly followed.

The earliest recorded account of the development of writing is found in a poem from ancient Mesopotamia:

The Lord of Kulaba patted some clay and wrote on it like a tablet because the messenger's mouth was heavy and he couldn't repeat the message. It has never been possible to write on clay before.

Enmerkar and the King of Aratta, a Sumerian epic written around 1800 BCE

Although there is agreement among scholars as to the difference between prehistory and the history of early writing, there is disagreement as to when proto-writing became "real writing." The criteria are somewhat arbitrary. In the broadest sense, writing is a way of keeping track of information. It is made up of graphemes, which in turn can be made up of glyphs.

Many centuries of shattered inscriptions typically follow the advent of writing in a particular region. The presence of coherent texts in a culture's writing system is how historians determine a culture's "historicity".

Standard reconstruction of the development of writing. There is a possibility that the Egyptian script was invented independently from the Mesopotamian script.

A conventional "proto-writing to true writing" system follows a general series of developmental stages:

Picture writing system: glyphs (simplified pictures) directly represent objects and concepts. In connection with this, the following substages may be distinguished:

• Mnemonic: glyphs primarily as a reminder.

• Pictographic: glyphs directly represent an object or a concept such as (A) chronological, (B) notices, (C) communications, (D) totems, titles, and names, (E) religious, (F) customs, (G) historical, and (H) biographical.

• Ideographic: graphemes are abstract symbols that directly represent an idea or concept.

Pre-cuneiform tags, with drawing of goat or sheep and number (probably "10"): "Ten goats", Al-Hasakah, 3300–3100 BCE, Uruk culture.

Transitional system: graphemes refer not only to the object or idea that it represents but to its name as well.

• Phonetic system: graphemes refer to sounds or spoken symbols, and the form of the grapheme is not related to its meanings. This resolves itself into the following substages:

• Verbal: grapheme (logogram) represents a whole word.

• Syllabic: grapheme represents a syllable.

• Alphabetic: grapheme represents an elementary sound.

Designs on some of the labels or token from Abydos, carbon-dated to circa 3400–3200 BC and among the earliest form of writing in Egypt. They are remarkably similar to contemporary clay tags from Uruk, Mesopotamia.

The best known picture writing system of ideographic or early mnemonic symbols are:

• Jiahu symbols, carved on tortoise shells in Jiahu, c. 6600 BCE

• Vinča symbols (Tărtăria tablets), c. 5300 BCE[24]

• Early Indus script, c. 3100 BCE

In the Old World, true writing systems developed from neolithic writing in the Early Bronze Age (4th millennium BC).

Locations and timeframes

Comparative evolution

from pictograms to abstract shapes, in Mesopotamian cuneiforms, Egyptian hieroglyphs and Chinese characters

Proto-writing

The first writing systems of the Early Bronze Age were not a sudden invention. Rather, they were a development based on earlier traditions of symbol systems that cannot be classified as proper writing, but have many of the characteristics of writing. These systems may be described as "proto-writing". They used ideographic or early mnemonic symbols to convey information, but it probably directly contained no natural language. These systems emerged in the early Neolithic period, as early as the 7th millennium BC, and include:

• The Jiahu symbols found carved in tortoise shells in 24 Neolithic graves excavated at Jiahu, Henan province, northern China, with radiocarbon dates from the 7th millennium BCE. Most archaeologists consider these not directly linked to the earliest true writing.

• Vinča symbols, sometimes called the "Danube script", are a set of symbols found on Neolithic era (6th to 5th millennia BCE) artifacts from the Vinča culture of Central Europe and Southeast Europe.

• The Dispilio Tablet of the late 6th millennium may also be an example of proto-writing.

• The Indus script, which from 3500 BCE to 1900 BCE was used for extremely short inscriptions.

The Dispilio Tablet

The Dispilio tablet is a wooden tablet bearing inscribed markings, unearthed during George Hourmouziadis's excavations of Dispilio in Greece, and carbon 14-dated to 5202 (± 123) BC.

It was discovered in 1993 in a Neolithic lakeshore settlement that occupied an artificial island near the modern village of Dispilio on Lake Kastoria in Kastoria, Western Macedonia, Greece.

Even after the Neolithic, a number of societies used proto-writing as a transitional form before adopting formal writing. Such a mechanism might have existed in the quipu of the Incas (15th century CE), often known as "talking knots". Another example is the pictographs created by Uyaquk before the Central Alaskan Yup'ik language developed the Yugtun syllabary around 1900.

Ancient writing

The Bronze Age saw the development of writing in a wide range of cultures. Indus script, Egyptian hieroglyphs, Cretan hieroglyphs, Chinese logographs, Sumerian cuneiform writing, and the Olmec script of Mesoamerica are a few examples. Around 1600 BCE, the Chinese script most likely evolved apart from the Middle Eastern scripts. It is also generally accepted that the pre-Columbian Mesoamerican writing systems, which include the Olmec and Maya scripts, had separate origins. In 2000 BCE, it is believed that the first real alphabetic writing was created for Hebrew laborers in the Sinai by assigning Semitic values to mostly Egyptian hieratic characters (see History of the alphabet and Proto-Sinaitic alphabet).

Ethiopia's Geez writing system is regarded as Semitic. With roots in the Meroitic Sudanese ideogram system, it is most likely of semi-independent origin. The majority of alphabets used today are either direct descendants of this one invention, many through the Phoenician alphabet, or were designed in direct response to it. The early Old Italic alphabet and Plautus (c. 750–250 BCE) were separated by around 500 years in Italy, while the Elder Futhark inscriptions and early works like the Abrogans (c. 200–750 CE) are separated by a similar amount of time in the case of the Germanic peoples.

Cuneiform writing

The first Sumerian script was derived from a system of clay tokens used to denote different types of goods. This had developed into a system of keeping accounts by the end of the fourth millennium BC, utilizing a stylus with a circular form that was impressed into soft clay at various angles to record numbers. A pointed stylus was used to gradually add pictographic lettering on this to show what was being counted. Writing using a wedge-shaped stylus (hence the name "cuneiform") began to include phonetic features by the 29th century BCE and gradually replaced writing with a round stylus and a sharp stylus by about 2700–2500 BCE.

Cuneiform first started to represent Sumerian syllables around 2600 BCE. Ultimately, cuneiform writing evolved into a general-purpose system for writing numerals, syllables, and logograms. This alphabet was adapted to the Akkadian language starting in the 26th century BCE, and from there to others like Hurrian and Hittite. This writing system resembles Old Persian and Ugaritic scripts in appearance.

Hieroglyphics from Egypt

Literacy was concentrated among a well-educated elite of scribes, who played a crucial role in upholding the Egyptian empire through writing. To become scribes in the employ of temple, royal (pharaonic), and military authority, one had to come from a certain background.

According to Geoffrey Sampson, the general concept of expressing words from a language in writing was likely transmitted to Egypt via Sumerian Mesopotamia. Egyptian hieroglyphs "came into being a little after Sumerian script, and, possibly [were], invented under the influence of the latter." Despite the significance of early Egypt-Mesopotamia links, "no definitive judgment has been established as to the genesis of hieroglyphics in ancient Egypt" due to the lack of direct evidence. However, it is stated and agreed upon that "a very compelling argument can also be made for the independent development of writing in Egypt" and that "the evidence for such direct influence remains fragile."

Egyptian writing does suddenly appear at that time, but Mesopotamia has an evolutionary history of sign usage in tokens dating back to around 8000 BCE. Since the 1990s, discoveries of glyphs at Abydos, dated to between 3400 and 3200 BCE, may challenge the conventional idea that the Mesopotamian symbol system predates the Egyptian one. These glyphs were discovered in tomb U-J at Abydos; they were written on ivory and most likely served as labels for other items discovered there.

Even though he acknowledged that Egypt's geographic location made it a receptacle for many influences, Egyptian scholar Gamal Mokhtar maintained that the inventory of hieroglyphic symbols originated from "fauna and flora used in the signs [which] are essentially African" and that in regards to writing, "we have seen that a purely Nilotic, therefore African origin not only is not excluded, but probably reflects the reality."

Elamite writing

The unintelligible Proto-Elamite writing first appears around 3100 BCE. Around the latter third millennium, it is thought to have evolved into Linear Elamite, which was later supplanted by Elamite Cuneiform, which was adapted from Akkadian.

Indus script

Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it difficult to judge whether or not these symbols constituted a writing system used to record the as yet unidentified language(s) of the Indus Valley civilisation.

The Indus script has been assigned to markings and symbols discovered at numerous Indus Valley civilization sites due to the hypothesis that they were used to transcribe the Harappan language. It is disputed whether the script, which was in use from roughly 3500 to 1900 BCE, is a Bronze Age writing script (logographic-syllabic) or merely proto-writing symbols. According to analysis, it was written in boustrophedon or from right to left.

early SEMITIC ALPHABETS

Around 1800 BCE in Ancient Egypt, the first "abjads," which mapped individual symbols to individual phonemes but not necessarily each phoneme to a symbol, appeared as a representation of the language created there by Semitic workers. However, by that time, alphabetic principles had only a remote chance of being ingrained into Egyptian hieroglyphs for upwards of a millennium.

Did the Proto-Canaanite alphabet take its symbols independently of the hieroglyphs?

It is only until the end of the Bronze Age that the Proto-Sinaitic script separates into the Proto-Canaanite alphabet (c. 1400 BCE), Byblos syllabary, and the South Arabian alphabet (c. 1200 BCE). These early abjads remained of minor significance for several decades. The untranslated Byblos syllabary most likely had some influence on the Proto-Canaanite, which in turn provided inspiration for the Ugaritic alphabet (c. 1300 BCE).

Anatolian hieroglyphs

The Luwian language was written down using Anatolian hieroglyphs, a native hieroglyphic script found in western Anatolia. Around the fourteenth century BCE, it initially appeared on royal seals of the Luwians.

Chinese characters

The corpus of inscriptions on oracle bones and brass from the late Shang dynasty is the earliest authenticated example of the Chinese script that has been found so far. The oldest of these is believed to date from about 1200 BCE.

There have been recent finds of tortoise-shell carvings from around 6000 BCE, such as Jiahu Script and Banpo Script, but it is debatable whether or not the carvings are complex enough to be considered writing. 3,172 cliff carvings from the period between 6000 and 5000 BCE have been found near Damaidi in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. They contain 8,453 different characters, including images of the sun, moon, stars, gods, and scenes of grazing or hunting.

Replica

of ancient Chinese script on an oracle turtle shell

These pictographs are thought to resemble the first Chinese characters that have been confirmed to be written. Writing in China would predate Mesopotamian cuneiform, traditionally recognized as the first manifestation of writing, by about 2,000 years if it were to be considered a written language. However, it is more likely that the inscriptions represent a type of proto-writing, comparable to the modern European Vinca script.

Early Greek and Cretan scripts

Cretan relics include hieroglyphic writing (early-to-mid-2nd millennium BCE, MM I to MM III, overlapping with Linear A from MM IIA at the earliest). The Mycenaean Greek writing system, Linear B, has been decoded, but Linear A has not yet been. The three overlapping, but distinct, Aegean pre-alphabetic writing systems can be categorized according to their chronological order and geographic distribution as follows:

• Cretan Hieroglyphic / Crete (eastward from the Knossos-Phaistos axis) / c. 2100−1700 BCE

• Linear A / Crete (except extreme southwest), Aegean Islands (Kea, Kythera, Melos, Thera), Greek mainland (Laconia) and west Minor Asia (Miletus and maybe Troy) / c. 1800−1450 BCE

• Linear B / Crete (Knossos), and mainland (Pylos, Mycenae, Thebes, Tiryns) / c. 1450−1200 BCE

The archaeological finds with signs of pre-alphabetic scripts in the Aegean

(Up) The finds with signs of Linear B script reach about 6,000 and constitute the majority of the pre-alphabetic written monuments of the Aegean.

(Middle) About 1,400 are the finds which imprint Linear A and make up a 11% of all pre-alphabetic inscriptions.

(Down) Cretan hieroglyphics occupies 2% of the available finds with only 400 finds.

Illustration: Dimosthenis Vasiloudis

Mesoamerica

The Cascajal Block, a stone slab with 3,000-year-old writing that predates the first Zapotec writing from around 500 BCE, was found in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is an example of the oldest script in the Western Hemisphere.

Stela 12 and 13

from the southern end of Building L, in the Zapotec city of Monte Albán, Outside of Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Maya script is one of numerous pre-Columbian scripts found in Mesoamerica, and it appears to have been the most well-developed and extensively deciphered. The earliest clearly identifiable Maya inscriptions date to the third century BCE, and writing continued to be used until just before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the sixteenth century BCE. A combination of logograms and syllabic symbols, utilized in Maya writing, is somewhat reminiscent of current Japanese writing.

IRON AGE WRITING

The Proto-Canaanite alphabet, which was used into the Iron Age, is all that the Phoenician alphabet is (conventionally taken from a cut-off date of 1050 BCE). The Greek and Aramaic alphabets were derived from this alphabet. They eventually gave rise to the writing systems that are currently used everywhere, from Western Asia to Africa and Europe. The Greek alphabet, on the other hand, was the first to use specific symbols to represent vowel sounds.

By Matt Baker

In the first centuries of the Common Era, the Greek and Latin alphabets gave rise to a number of European scripts, including the Runes, Gothic, and Cyrillic alphabets, while the Aramaic alphabet developed into the Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac abjads, the latter of which spread as far as Mongolian script. The Ge'ez abugida originated from the South Arabian alphabet. According to some academics, the Indian Brahmic family also descended from the Aramaic alphabet.

GRAKLIANI HILL WRITING

At Georgia's Grakliani Hill, behind a fallen altar from a temple dedicated to a fertility goddess from the seventh century BCE, an obscure script was uncovered in 2015. Grakliani's other temples' inscriptions, which depict animals, people, or decorative features, are different from these ones. Although its letters are rumored to be connected to ancient Greek and Aramaic, the script has no similarities to any known alphabet. In contrast, the earliest Armenian and Georgian letters come from the fifth century CE, right after the respective nations converted to Christianity. The inscription looks to be the oldest local alphabet ever uncovered in the entire Caucasus region. An portion of the inscription measuring 31 by 3 inches had been unearthed by September 2015.

Grakliani script on the basement of altar of goddess of fertility (XI-X c. BC)

Vakhtang Licheli, director of the State University's Institute of Archaeology, claims that "The writings on the temple's two altars have been kept in remarkably good condition. While the pedestal of the second altar is entirely covered with writings, the first altar has few clay letters carved into it." Unpaid students made the discovery. Inscriptions from Grakliani Hill were sent to Miami Laboratory in 2016 for beta analytic radiocarbon dating, which revealed that they were created between c. 1005 and c. 950 BCE.

WRITING IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD

When the Greeks adopted the Phoenician script for use with their own language in the early eighth century BCE, the history of the Greek alphabet officially began. The Greek and Phoenician alphabets share a lot of similarities in terms of their characters, and both alphabets nowadays are written in the same order. The Phoenician system's adapter(s) added three letters to the conclusion of the series, known as the "supplementals." The Greek alphabet evolved into a number of different forms.

Early Greek alphabet on pottery in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

One was utilized in southern Italy and west of Athens and is known as Western Greek or Chalcidian. The other variant, known as Eastern Greek, was spoken by the Athenians and in modern-day Turkey before spreading over the rest of the Greek-speaking world. The Greeks initially elected to write like the Phoenicians, from right to left, but subsequently switched to left to right. The lines would then alternately read from left to right, then from right to left, and so on. On occasion, though, the writer would begin the next line where the preceding one ended. Up until the sixth century, this style of writing, called "boustrophedon," mirrored the course of an ox-drawn plough.

Italic scripts and Latin

Cippus Perusinus

Etruscan writing near Perugia, Italy, the precursor of the Latin alphabet

All of the contemporary European scripts have their roots in Greek. The Latin alphabet, named after the Latins, a central Italian people who came to rule Europe with the emergence of Rome, is the most widely used descendant of the Greek script. Around the fifth century BCE, the Etruscan civilization, which employed a multitude of Italic scripts descended from the western Greeks, taught the Romans how to write. The other Old Italic scripts have not survived in very large quantities due to the cultural hegemony of the Roman state, and the Etruscan language is largely extinct.

WRITING DURING THE MIDDLE AGES

Roman rule in Western Europe fell apart, and the Persian Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire became the main centers of literary development. Latin, which was never a major literary language, lost prominence quickly (except within the Roman Catholic Church). Greek and Persian were the two main literary languages, but Syriac and Coptic were also significant.

Arabic quickly became a significant literary language in the area as a result of the development of Islam in the 7th century. Greek's status as a scholarly language soon lost ground to Arabic and Persian. The Turkish and Persian languages now use Arabic script as their principal writing system. The development of the cursive scripts for Greek, the Slavic languages, Latin, and other languages was also greatly inspired by this script.

The Hindu-Arabic numeral system was also extended throughout Europe thanks to the Arabic language. The modern Spanish city of Cordoba had emerged as one of the world's leading intellectual hubs by the start of the second millennium and was home to the largest library at the time. Its location at the meeting point of the Islamic and Western Christian worlds encouraged intellectual growth and written exchange between the two cultures.

THE MODERN ERA AND THE RENAISSANCE

By the 14th century, Western Europe had experienced a renaissance, which had temporarily increased the significance of Greek while slowly restoring Latin's status as an important literary language. In Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, a comparable but smaller emergence took place. As the Islamic Golden Era came to an end, Arabic and Persian also started to slowly lose ground. In order to codify the phonologies of the various languages, the Latin alphabet underwent several alterations as a result of the rebirth of literary development in Western Europe.

Writing has undergone steady change throughout history, in large part because of the emergence of new technologies. Technology advancements such as the printing press, computer, mobile phone, and pen have all changed how and what is written as well as the medium in which it is generated. Characters can now be generated with a button press rather than a hand motion, especially with the development of digital technology like the computer and the smartphone.

Largest animal-shaped bronze mythical beast unearthed at Sanxingdui

A large bronze mythical beast weighing about 150 kilograms was unearthed at the Sanxingdui Ruins site on Wednesday, along with other relics, as archaeologists continued excavations in the site's No. 8 sacrificial pits. So far, around 14,000 items buried for more than 3,000 years have been unearthed from all the sacrificial pits at Sanxingdui.

"Since the first excavation at Sanxingdui in 1986, the unearthed mythical beasts have been smaller in size, only about 20 to 30 centimeters long."

Zhao Hao, a team member of the No. 8 pit's excavation, said the bronze mythical beast was enormous. The length and height are about 1 meter, and it is the most complete and the largest animal-shaped bronze unearthed at Sanxingdui.

The bronze statue of a man on the horn of the bronze mythical beast. /People.cn

Unusually, the massive bronze mythical beast has a horn on its head and a bronze statue of a man standing on the horn. The bronze man wears a long robe and has a thin body. Archaeologists speculate that the man might be harnessing or controlling the mythical beast.

A sacred tree was engraved on the surface of the beast's chest. Zhao said this is a new artifact of a type that has never appeared at the Sanxingdui site.

"The tree is engraved directly on it and can be seen as Sanxingdui people's worship of the sacred tree, or has taken the sacred tree as a kind of divine presence," said Zhao.

The extraction work at the No. 8 pit is expected to be completed between late September and early October. The next stage will be laboratory research and cultural relic restoration.

Plunging Yangtze River unveils 600-year-old statues

China is in the clutches of a record-breaking heat wave that has been ongoing for 70 consecutive days, and residents across the country are facing devastating impacts as a result. The heat has been compounded by bone-dry conditions, which have caused historical drought conditions for some regions, including the Yangtze River Valley.

The Yangtze River is the world's third largest river and the longest river in Asia. It is a significant source for hydropower and transportation, provides drinking water to more than 400 million residents in China and brings water to nearby agricultural regions.

Portions of the Yangtze River flowing through the municipality of Chongqing in southwestern China have dropped so significantly that age-old statues that date back to the Ming and Qing dynasties have been uncovered. On the highest point of the Foyeliang island reef, previously submerged in the Yangtze River, an oblong stone now protrudes and displays three ancient Buddhist statues.

A once submerged Buddhist statue sits on top of Foyeliang island reef in the Yangtze River, which appeared after water levels fell due to a regional drought in Chongqing, China, Aug. 20, 2022. REUTERS/Thomas Peter TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Experts believe that the statues were carved roughly 600 years ago based on analysis of their design. During the Ming period, from 1368 to 1644, Buddhism blossomed in China and became implanted into common society.

It is not the first occurrence of submerged Buddha statues discovered across China. In 2017 a separate Buddha carving was found in China's Jiangxi Province, Xinhua reported. It was determined that the statue dated back to the Ming Dynasty. Locals told Xinhua that due to the Buddha's placement at the intersection of two rivers where boats have commonly overturned, it was believed that it was carved there so that people could pray for safety as they traveled the waters.

The China Meteorological Administration issued its first national drought alert of the year on Aug. 19, prompted by the low water levels of the Yangtze River and concerns for significant water shortages.

"Rainfall has been below normal across the Yangtze River Valley since May. This is due to persistent ridging over the region since July that has led to the multiple heat waves," explained AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.

Rocks are exposed on the dry riverbed of the Jialing River in southwestern China's Chongqing Municipality, Friday, Aug. 19, 2022. Ships crept down the middle of the Yangtze on Friday after the driest summer in six decades left one of the mightiest rivers shrunk to barely half its normal width and set off a scramble to contain damage to a weak economy in a politically sensitive year. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The ongoing impacts of the heat and drought on the river levels in parts of China have now begun to affect hydropower, a resource that many Chinese provinces are heavily reliant on. The Sichuan Province in southwest China utilizes hydropower for roughly 82% of its energy utilization, according to Bloomberg News, and the low river levels are triggering widespread shipping delays and ceasing operations for some companies.

In Sichuan, the demand for power has increased by 25% this summer, a local media outlet told The Guardian. Rising temperatures and the lengthy heat wave have prompted residents to crank up the air conditioning, placing a hefty strain on energy demand.

Forecasters say temperatures have averaged nearly 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) above normal since June.

The Sichuan provincial government announced that the water flow to the area reservoirs has decreased by half. Downstream from Sichuan, issues relating to hydropower have cascaded to the municipalities of Chongqing City and the Hubei Province.

Due to the shortage, the province suspended or limited power supply to thousands of factories and the public last week. Plans to restart production are in place for this week.

AccuWeather forecasters say that relief from the heat may not arrive until mid- to late week.

"The current heat wave will continue in these areas on Tuesday," Nicholls said. Temperatures will trend lower starting Wednesday as the ridge of high pressure begins to weaken.

Additionally, the chances for rainfall across the region are expected to increase in the upcoming days and help to ease the drought conditions.

"A stalling front can bring the area some needed rainfall Friday into early next week," explained Nicholls.

The China's Atlantis – 'Shi Cheng', An Ancient Underwater Lost City

Βelow the calm surface of Qiandao Lake in the Zhejiang Province of China lie the mysterious ruins of two ancient underwater ‘lost’ cities, dating back to the Han and Tang dynasties.

(Chinese National Geography)

Shī Chéng (Chinese: 狮城, literally ‘Lion City’) is an ancient underwater city situated under Qiandao Lake in the Zhejiang Province of China. The city was flooded for the purpose of Industrialization by the Chinese Government in the year 1959 after a hydroelectric dam was required for the province of Zhejiang.

Qiandao Lake, also known as Thousand Island Lake, is a sprawling body of fresh water, covering 573 sq. km. The name comes from the fact that there are over a thousand islands in the lake.

According to the evidence found, the lost city was inhabited for centuries, but is now primarily used as an underwater tourist attraction by tourists and diving experts.

Shī Chéng was named the 'Lion City' after the nearby Wu Shi Mountain (Five Lion Mountain) in the Qiandao Lake.

Origins and Discovery

Aerial view of Qiandao Lake. Photo by Chinese National Geography.

Shī Chéng was purposely flooded to create space for a hydroelectric dam on government orders. Approximately 300,000 people were relocated as a result of the project. The former residents were connected with the Lion City by basis of ancestry and culture.

(Chinese National Geography)

Shī Chéng was believed to be the most prominent Chinese city that remains well-preserved. Many of its homes, temples structures and paved roads were preserved by being 131 feet underwater. In this way, it was protected from wind, rain and sun damage.

(Chinese National Geography)

It is believed the city of Shi Cheng was built during the Tang Dynasty in 621 AD, making it nearly 1,400 years old. Based on records of the region’s history, it is thought to be quite large, possibly over 60 football fields, and featured 265 arches throughout the city. 

(Chinese National Geography)

Shi Cheng was also unusual in that it was constructed with 5 city gates and towers, as opposed to the norm of 4.  The city of He Cheng is believed to date back even further to the Han Dong dynasty (25 -200 AD).  

(Chinese National Geography)

The city has five entrance gates, which is different than the traditional four. The stone architecture dates to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Shī Chéng's streets contain 265 archways with surviving stonework that date to 1777, and the city walls date to the 16th Century.

The Chinese government planned an expedition to explore the remains of the lost metropolis in 2001, when the city was rediscovered. In 2011, pictures and graphics were published by the Chinese National Geography, which sparked interest among the general public and researchers to explore.

(Chinese National Geography)

The early divers found Shi Cheng to be largely intact, with many of the structures, carvings, guardian lions, and arches still preserved. There have been efforts to map & document Shi Cheng by divers and researchers, as well as looking into protective measures to prevent damage to it. The cities were declared historical relics under the protection of the Zhejiang Province.

HOW TO GET THERE

There are very few dive operators running trips to Qiandao Lake. I opted to dive with Big Blue Scuba, based in Shanghai, as they have scheduled trips to dive the lake. In addition, Shanghai has a wide range of travel and accommodation options, along with many international and domestic flights to either Pudong Interational Airport (PVG) or Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport (SHA).

 

The Qiandao Lake dives were offered as a weekend package, including round trip transport between Shanghai and the lake, the dives, tanks and weights, food, and local accommodations. Nitrox and rental gear is available if needed.

From Shanghai it is approximately 400km to the small town of Dashuzhen near the southwestern edge of the lake, taking between 6-7 hours by car.  It was actually only 4 hours to reach the eastern edge of Qiandao Lake, however, you will still needed to navigate the local winding roads around the lake (some of which were still under construction) to reach the hotel in Dashuzhen.

(Chinese National Geography)

Another option is to contact the Beijing Dragon Diving Club to see if they have any upcoming Qiandao Lake dives. Members of the club were the first to rediscover the underwater city in 2001.

Because this is a lake dive, it is important to understand the differences between the conditions encountered here vs. clear ocean water. All divers were required to do an initial checkout dive in the lagoon, which only reached around 25ft in depth. Visibility at the surface was 5ft at best, dropping down to a mere 6 inches in some places at the bottom of the lagoon.

(Chinese National Geography)

This quickly made us realize how quickly the visibility could deteriorate, how easily you could become separated from your guide and how disorienting the conditions could become. If any group members had lapses in buoyancy or improper kicking technique that disturbed the low solubility sediment at the ruins, the dive could be completely destroyed for everyone.

PHOTO GALLERY BY CAROLYN WANG

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The dive boat can hold 6-8 divers and was docked in the lagoon near the dive staging area where we prepped our gear and suited up. Bathrooms and showers are located at the staging area as well. The Lion City dive sites are about 10 minutes by boat from the dock, and we dove as a group of 3 with our guide. The lake itself becomes dark very quickly as you descend, and dive lights are mandatory as it essentially becomes a night dive as you near the ruins, which lie between 85 – 130ft below.

Info: Underwater Photography Guide, By Carolyn Wang

Archaeologists locate lost palace of Genghis Khan's grandson

Archaeologists working in the Çaldıran district of eastern Turkey’s Van province have unearthed an ancient palace that may have belonged to Genghis Khan’s grandson Haluga Khan. The excavation of the site is ongoing.

The excavation team of Ersel Çağlıtütuncigi, a professor of the Izmir Katip Çelebi University Turkish-Islamic Archeology Department, have found fragments of pottery, porcelain and tricolour-glazed ceramics, as well as bricks and glazed roof tiles. Some doubts remain as to whether the site is the lost Khan residence, however.

Mongolian Academy of Sciences archaeologist Munkhtulga Rinchinkhorol, who is working on the dig, told Live Science that “‘s’-like symbols on the roof-ending tiles,” also known as “svastika pattern or tamga,” are “one of the power symbols of the Mongol Khans.”

Historical records from the 1260s also appear to detail the construction of Huluga’s summer palace. While the documents clarify that the residence was built in Çaldıran, they don’t specify an exact location in the district. Hulagu Khan, who lived from circa 1217 to 1265 CE, was a Mongol ruler known for his successful military expeditions throughout the Middle East. After the Mongol Empire began to fragment in 1259, Huluga led a smaller Mongol Empire, known as the Ilkhanate State, in its dominion over Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Turkey.

The unearthed artefacts and historical records have led researchers working under Turkey’s General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism to propose that the site could be the first-known architectural remains dating back to the Ilkhanate period. “No Ilkhanid work has been encountered until now, Çağlıtütuncigil told the Daily Sabah in June. “In this sense, this study was a first.”

To determine whether the structure can be tied to Khan, an additional excavation is required. A full report on the research is said to be forthcoming.

3000 year-old mystery civilisation treasures unearthed that could re-write Chinese history

It was a privilege to see first-hand, relics crafted more than three thousand years ago.

Fragment of a gold mask unearthed at Sanxingdui, an archaeological site in southwest China Photo by Shen Bohan / Xinhua via Getty Images

The artefacts we saw on display at Sanxingdui in southern China were remarkable, not only because of their age, but their intricate detail that has survived for so long underground.

The first pit was discovered here almost one hundred years ago but it was an excavation which began in 2020 that has provided some long-awaited answers about the Shu Kingdom, a mysterious civilisation whose relics could re-write Chinese history.

Their existence and the vast treasure trove they left behind challenges some of the narratives about the dominant populations in China at that time.

Many items still have their original gold and are made with a level of skill and quality which exceeds anything else recovered in the country from the same period.

Three years ago, six new sacrificial pits were discovered and so far, thirteen thousand ancient artefacts have been unearthed. Archaeologists believe there could be more to come.

More than three thousand objects were uncovered almost completely intact. They are mostly made of bronze and jade, but gold and ivory were used in some of the most unique articles.

With almost no written records of the time, historians are still unclear about what purpose they were used for but believe they were religious or ceremonial in nature. With each new find they shed more light on the people who crafted these magnificent items.

Kneeling figures suggest the Shu people had a religion and Indian seashells used as currency suggest a link with neighbouring nations.

There are experts from almost every scientific field involved in the analysis of the pits and they are using the most advanced restoration techniques ever deployed in a Chinese dig. The teams were working in temperature-controlled units to help preserve each piece as it is being examined and then removed for cleaning and microscopic investigation.

Technology such as 3-D scanning, x-ray and infrared analysis have allowed them to understand more not just about the relics themselves but the soil and environment in which they were found.

That has provided new information on everything from what kind of animals the people kept, to what the weather was like thousands of years ago.

They have even been able to establish that the Shu people also wore silks.

Those working on this project say it is no exaggeration to describe Sanxingdui as a new Wonder in the World.

It gives us an incredible insight into Bronze Age culture.

The site is already home to one of the largest archaeological puzzles in China, and they are still finding missing links.