8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Researcher Says There is Similarity Between Mayan and Shu Cultures

The similarities between Mayan civilization and Shu culture draw the attention of researchers. As it is known, the Sanxingdui ruins, located in the city of Guanghan, about 60 kilometers from Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, belonged to the Shu Kingdom.

Discoveries at the famous Sanxingdui ruins in southwest China show that the region’s ancient Shu state civilization shared similarities with the Mayans, according to the director of the Chichén Itzá archaeological site, Marco Antonio Santos.

Santos says the bronze remains of trees buried in sacrificial pits in the ruins of the Shu Kingdom resemble the sacred ceiba tree that symbolized the union of heaven, earth, and the underworld in the Mayan civilization that flourished in Mesoamerica.

“They are very important similarities,” said Santos, stressing that “the representations of trees in both cultures provides a symbolism that is very similar”.

The findings at the Sanxingdui ruins, considered one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century, also show a new aspect of bronze-age culture, indicating the ancient civilization already had knowledge of technologies that were thought to have been developed much later, says Santos.

Sanxingdui sacred bronze tree
Sanxingdui ruins, sacred bronze tree.

While the time span between the millennial Shu Kingdom and the Mayan culture that flourished in the jungles of southeast Mexico is great, the findings highlight the closeness between the two civilizations, says Santos.

They developed in regions with comparable climates and reflected their worldview through related symbols, he notes, adding that among the over 500 artifacts recently unearthed in Sanxingdui, were pieces of gold and jade, materials the Maya also used to represent elements related to royalty and the gods.

“At the end of the day, man is still man, independent of time and space. What we have is that, at this latitude, both the Shu culture and the Mayans looked at the same sky, they had the same stars on the horizon,” the expert says.

Santos said that cooperation between Chinese and Mexican archaeologists can benefit the Mayan World project. In the Mayan world, the rainy climate and humidity are a problem for the preservation of cultural relics.

Source: China.org

Related Articles

The Big Universe Coming Out from the Dust “in Esna Temple”

7 February 2021

7 February 2021

While the Esna Temple has been waiting to renew and breathe again for a long time, it has recently experienced...

Ancient Cymbals Unearthed in Oman Reveal Shared Musical Traditions Across Bronze Age Cultures

8 April 2025

8 April 2025

Recent archaeological discoveries in Oman have unveiled significant insights into the musical practices of Bronze Age societies, suggesting a rich...

New evidence suggests Indonesia’s Gunung Padang could be world’s oldest known pyramid

21 November 2023

21 November 2023

Gunung Padang, a  colossal megalithic structure nestled in the lush landscapes of West Java, Indonesia, could be the world’s oldest...

Tang-e Chogan bas-relief carvings, Majestic treasures of Sassanid art, are under threat of destruction 

9 March 2022

9 March 2022

Treasures of Sassanid art, some of Tang-e Chogan’s bas-reliefs are under threat of complete destruction due to lack of maintenance...

Drought accelerated Hittite Empire’s collapse

9 February 2023

9 February 2023

Researchers have offered new insight into the abrupt collapse of the  Hittite Empire in the Late Bronze Age, with an...

DNA from 20,000-year-old deer-tooth pendant reveals woman who wore it

4 May 2023

4 May 2023

A pendant made of a deer tooth that was exposed to DNA about 20,000 years ago has yielded clues about...

Roman camp of 10,000 people discovered in northern Portugal

2 July 2021

2 July 2021

A camp used by 10,000 Roman soldiers sent to conquer northwestern Iberia has been discovered in the Portuguese city of...

From Destruction to Discovery: Ancient Greek Tombstone Discovered in Libya After Storm ‘Daniel’

2 March 2025

2 March 2025

The Libyan Antiquities Authority has officially confirmed that an ancient artifact uncovered in the torrents caused by Storm “Daniel” in...

Scenes of Warriors from 6th Century BC on a Slate Plaque Discovered at Tartessian Site in Spain

6 June 2024

6 June 2024

Archaeologists representing Spain’s National Research Council (CSIC) excavating at the archaeological site of Casas del Turunuelo have uncovered a slate...

Could Therasia’s 4,500-Year-Old Seals Be the Missing Link in Aegean Writing?

3 June 2025

3 June 2025

Therasia’s archaeological discovery offers significant insights, influencing our understanding of Early Bronze Age communication and the emergence of writing in...

From Ancient Scripts to Digital Insights: TLHdig 0.2 Breathes New Life into Hittite Cuneiform Tablets

27 March 2025

27 March 2025

The UNESCO World Heritage Site of Boğazköy-Hattuša, once the capital of the Hittite Empire during the late Bronze Age (circa...

Ruins of China’s earliest state academy found in east China

21 February 2022

21 February 2022

The ruins of ancient China‘s first government-run institution of higher learning, built in 374 BC, have been discovered in the...

Mysterious and Life-size camel carvings have been found in Saudi Arabian desert

4 October 2023

4 October 2023

Archaeologists have found life-size camel carvings on a rock near the southern border of Saudi Arabia’s Nafud desert. The Neolithic...

Surprising Discovery: In Guatemala, archaeologists uncover hidden neighborhood in the ancient Maya city

28 September 2021

28 September 2021

A recent lidar analysis revealed, the region surrounding Central Tikal’s Lost World Complex, which was long thought to be a...

A submerged stone bridge constructed 5600 years ago shed light on the human colonization of the western Mediterranean

31 August 2024

31 August 2024

An interdisciplinary research team, led by University of South Florida (USF) geology Professor Bogdan Onac, has examined an ancient submerged...