A 3,000-year-old altar discovered on the Bayanbulak Grasslands in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region during a scientific survey may represent an ancient prairie culture that once existed in the area, experts announced on Tuesday, according to a Guangming Daily report.
Consisting of three concentric circles created from numerous football-sized stones, the giant ruins are believed by experts to be an ancient altar dedicated to sun worship.
From smallest to largest, the three circles are 50, 71 and 100 meters in diameter, showing a progression ratio roughly equal to the square root of two.
"It's really hard to believe that this is something that happened by chance," Wu Xinhua, head of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Archaeological Team from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in the announcement.
"But if it was planned, then the builders most likely had at one time been influenced by Central Plain cultures," said Wu, pointing out that the altar is very similar to altars dating from the same period of time discovered in the Central Plain area along the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Discovered by a Chinese scientific expedition team exploring the section of the ancient Silk Road near the Tianshan Mountains in 2016, the site is believed by experts to represent the ancient Khirigsuur Archaeological Culture - a Bronze Age culture whose relics are often discovered near the Altay Mountains, the Tianshan Mountains and the western part of the Mongolian Plateau.
Moreover, Wu remarked that altar's like the one in Xinjiang might be a precursor to the obo, sacred stone heaps that act as altars in traditional Mongolian religious practices.
Consisting of three concentric circles created from numerous football-sized stones, the giant ruins are believed by experts to be an ancient altar dedicated to sun worship.
From smallest to largest, the three circles are 50, 71 and 100 meters in diameter, showing a progression ratio roughly equal to the square root of two.
"It's really hard to believe that this is something that happened by chance," Wu Xinhua, head of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region Archaeological Team from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in the announcement.
"But if it was planned, then the builders most likely had at one time been influenced by Central Plain cultures," said Wu, pointing out that the altar is very similar to altars dating from the same period of time discovered in the Central Plain area along the lower reaches of the Yellow River.
Discovered by a Chinese scientific expedition team exploring the section of the ancient Silk Road near the Tianshan Mountains in 2016, the site is believed by experts to represent the ancient Khirigsuur Archaeological Culture - a Bronze Age culture whose relics are often discovered near the Altay Mountains, the Tianshan Mountains and the western part of the Mongolian Plateau.
Moreover, Wu remarked that altar's like the one in Xinjiang might be a precursor to the obo, sacred stone heaps that act as altars in traditional Mongolian religious practices.
“This proves that central plain culture had already long reached the foot of Mount Tianshan, in the Bayanbulak Grassland, the choke point of the Silk Road.”
Sun-worship has been practiced by Chinese people throughout history. Other examples include the sun altar, and the Temple of Heavens and Ritan (the Temple of Sun), built in Beijing hundreds of years ago.
The Silk Road rose to prominence roughly 100 years before the first century during China's Han Dynasty, when it was established by Chinese diplomat Zhang Quian. The road, which lasted until the 15th century, famously spread trade, economy, and culture.
Sun worship was a common practice among many cultures that existed during this period.
"Since ancient times all civilizations on the continent of Eurasia used circle shapes to represent the sun. Mongolian yurts have the same structure as the altar," archaeologist Wu Xinhua commented in the video.
The video shows the inside of a traditional Mongolian yurt. Wu explained that the ceiling's three tresses represent sky, light, and sun worship.
He also noted the similarities to the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, which is characterized by layered, circular floors. The Beijing temple is now regarded as belonging to the Taoist religion, however the time in which it was constructed suggests it was originally used for pre-Taoist heaven and sun worship.
Heaven worship is considered one of China's oldest forms of religion, and mounds were frequently used for elaborate ceremonies and non-human sacrifices. The exact purpose of the sun altar in Xinjiang, however, has yet to be identified. Sun worship was also common among civilizations in Africa and Indo-European regions.
Archaeologists will continue excavating the sun altar in Xinjiang in an effort to uncover more history of the ancient Silk Road.
Source
http://www.globaltimes.cn
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