A bronze man figure with beast-head helmet. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Archaeologists were excited by more discoveries in the 1980s, which included the remains of large palaces, the remnants of eastern, western and southern city walls in 1984 and the discovery of two large sacrificial pits in 1986.

The discoveries prove that Sanxingdui contains the ruins of an ancient city that was the political, economic and cultural center of the ancient Shu Kingdom.

The Sanxingdui Ruins is seen as one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century in China.

Before the excavation of Sanxingdui, it was believed that Sichuan had a history dating back 3,000 years. But thanks to the excavation, it is now believed that civilization first appeared in Sichuan 5,000 years ago, says Chen.

The Sanxingdui Ruins, located on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, also serve as proof that the origins of Chinese civilization are diverse, for the Sanxingdui Ruins dispels theories that the Yellow River was the sole starting point of Chinese civilization, according to Duan Yu, a historian with the Sichuan Provincial Academy of Social Sciences.