15.考古发现(原卷版).docxVIP

15.考古发现

一、阅读理解

1

NewdiscoveriesattheSanxingduiRuinssiteinGuanghan,SichuanProvincedrewtheworld’sattention.OnMarch20,Chinesearchaeologists（考古学家）announcedthattheyhadfoundmorethan500culturalrelics（文物）insixnewpitsatthesite,datingbackabout3,000years.

Sofar,archaeologistshaveuneartheddifferentimportantculturalrelicsfromfourofthepits,includingpiecesofgoldmasks,goldfoil（箔）,bronzemasks,bronzetreesandlargenumbersofivories.In1986,alargenumberofculturalrelicswerediscoveredinNo.1andNo.2pits.

TheSanxingduiRuins,whichwerefirstdiscoveredin1929,arebelievedtobetheremainsoftheancientShuKingdom.Thekingdomwasacenterofcivilization（文明）alongtheupperreachesofYangtzeRiver.

ThediscoveryofSanxingduiraisedanimportantquestionabouttheoriginsofChinesecivilization.TheancientShucivilizationthatbuiltSanxingduiisbelievedtobeoneoftheearliestexamplesofChinesecivilization.Thesite,alongwiththeLiangzhuandShijiahesitesalongtheYangtzeRiver,showsthatthebirthplaceofChinesecivilizationmightnothavebeenonlyalongtheYellowRiverBasininnorthChina.

Thenewly—discoveredculturalrelicsaresimilartothosefoundin1986,astheyalsoincludebronzetreesandbronzemasks.Theyfurthersupporttheideathatthepitswereusedforsacrificialpurposes.

Newkindsofculturalrelicshavealsobeendugup.Forexample,expertsfoundtwosquarezun（尊）,akindofancientbronzejarthatwasusedforholdingwaterorwine.Theyalsofoundcong（琮）—ajadeitemcommonlyfoundatthe5,000—year—oldLiangzhuArchaeologicalRuinsinZhejiangProvince.

“TheseartifactsshowthattheSanxingduiRuinssitehadacloseconnectionwithCentralChina,butitalsomarksanoriginalancientcivilizationinSichuanwithstrongcreativity,”saidChenXiandan,amemberoftheprojectwhoalsotookpartinthe1986excavation（发掘）.

1.Whatdoweknowaboutthec