It's surprising to find ancient crafted gold in central China.
A gold funeral mask, thought to be more than 3,000 years old, has been discovered in the tomb of an ancient noble in the city of Zhengzhou in central China.
And the South China Morning Post reported that the institute's director, Gu Wanfa, said the gold mask may have symbolized that the deceased had an"imperishable gold body" and was likely intended to keep the spirit of the dead person whole.Government archaeologists made the announcement of the mask's discovery during a news conference in Beijing on Sept. 16.
Ancient goldThe newfound Zhengzhou tomb is a significant find for research into the burial rituals of the Shang Dynasty, and it may even provide new insight into the origins of Chinese civilization, Chen Lüsheng, deputy director of the National Museum of China in Beijing, told the outlet. The Sanxingdui mask had detailed facial features, but archaeologists said it was attached to a wooden post or mannequin, rather than to an actual dead body. Such masks and other gold artifacts are relatively common at the Sanxingdui Ruins site, but they are rare at Shang Dynasty sites.
Gold and silver, however, were associated with the pastoralist cultures of the steppes, such as those of Central Asia, northwestern China and Mongolia, he said.
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