The Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology released new findings on June 2. Provenance research on 11 carnelian beads unearthed from sacrificial pits at the Sanxingdui site shows that the ancient Shu people had established stable and enduring material exchange with the northern grasslands and the Loess Plateau over 3,000 years ago. These beads are the southernmost known carnelian artifacts of that period in China.
Trace element analysis indicates that the uranium and lithium distribution patterns are completely inconsistent with sources such as the Deccan Plateau in India or the Liangshan and Baoshan areas in Southwest China. Seven beads point to the Yanshan orogenic belt, while three point to the broader Central Asian Orogenic Belt, possibly involving deposits along the Hexi Corridor.
The discovery reveals Bronze Age trade networks and cultural interactions, providing key evidence for reconstructing the provenance and spread of carnelian raw materials and bead ornaments in East Asia, and demonstrating that the pattern of unity in diversity of Chinese civilization had taken shape and further developed thousands of years ago.
