18 July 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

Egyptian archaeologists found 110 ancient tombs in the Nile Delta

28 April 2021

28 April 2021

The Tourism and Antiquities Ministry announced Tuesday that Egyptian archaeologists had discovered 110 burial tombs on the Nile Delta dating...

Archeologists Unearth Spectator snacks from the Roman Period in Colosseum

28 November 2022

28 November 2022

An excavation of the Colosseum’s sewer systems has uncovered a selection of spectator snacks from the Roman Period. It appears...

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...

3500-year-old mysterious hieroglyphs discovered in Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa deciphered

12 October 2023

12 October 2023

Some of the Anatolian hieroglyphs discovered last year in the Yerkapı Tunnel in Hattusa, the former capital of the Hittite...

1400-Year-Old Folding Chair Found in a Woman’s Grave in Germany

30 August 2022

30 August 2022

In Steinsfeld, in the German state of Ansbach, archaeologists have unearthed a 1,400-year-old folding chair from an early medieval woman’s...

A cemetery belonging to 54 children was found during the excavation in the old quarry in Diyarbakır, Türkiye

4 January 2024

4 January 2024

During the archaeological excavation carried out in the area considered to be an old quarry in the Kulp district of...

Oldest Fortresses in the World Discovered in Siberia

8 December 2023

8 December 2023

Archaeologists from Freie Universität Berlin together with an international team have uncovered fortified prehistoric settlements in a remote region of...

Evidence of Medieval Plague Victims Buried With “Significant Care” Found

23 June 2021

23 June 2021

The Black Death, which killed between 40 and 60% of Europe’s population in the mid-14th century, was a devastating epidemic...

Danish museum says Vikings had stained glass Windows

15 October 2023

15 October 2023

New research shows that  Viking Age windows were created using stained glass in the 9th century, contrary to popular belief...

World’s Oldest Customer Complaint “at 3800 Years Old”

4 February 2021

4 February 2021

When we are not satisfied with the product we receive, what almost all of us do is complain about the...

Ancient Rome’s city borders were discovered in a rare stone

17 July 2021

17 July 2021

Archaeologists unearthed a rare stone outlining ancient Rome’s city borders during excavations for a new sewage system. The stone comes...

13.000 Ostraca Discovered in Upper Egypt

20 December 2021

20 December 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism announced that a German-Egyptian mission at the Al-Sheikh Hamad archaeological site in Tel...

Excavations in Haldensleben, Germany Reveal A Lost Settlement

9 November 2024

9 November 2024

Excavations at Haldensleben in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt provide important information about a lost settlement. Since May 2024, the...

Well-Preserved Funerary Enclosures, Mausoleums, and Gladiator Epitaph Discovered in Ancient Roman Colony of Liternum, Italy

22 March 2025

22 March 2025

Recent archaeological excavations in the ancient Roman colony of Liternum, located in present-day Giugliano in Campania, Italy, have unveiled significant...

Electoral inscriptions just discovered in Pompeii reveal clientelism in ancient Rome

29 September 2023

29 September 2023

Several electoral inscriptions, the ancient equivalent of today’s electoral posters and pamphlets, have appeared on the walls of the room...