On a ridge above China’s Tuwei River, researchers found a massive stepped pyramid that once served as a palace center, along with defensive stone walls, tool-making debris, and several pits filled with sacrificial human skulls.
The Bronze Age discoveries challenge our understanding of early Chinese civilization and settlement, suggesting the loess highland was home to a complex society long before the traditionally assumed ‘centers’ emerged in the Central Plains.
And this was apparently not a short-lived civilization. According to the archaeologists that were working on the site, it appears that this city was inhabited for “five centuries”…
For five centuries, a city flourished around the pyramid. At one time, the city encompassed an area of 988 acres, making it one of the largest in the world, the archaeologists wrote. Today, the ruins of the city are called “Shimao,” but its name in ancient times is unknown.
In recent years, we have been finding ancient pyramids literally all over the planet. Obviously this common thread among ancient civilizations means that it is likely that the concept probably originated from a common source. And we very often see evidence of human sacrifice in the locations where we discover ancient pyramids, and that is definitely the case at Shimao…
Researchers say mass sacrifices were also commonplace at Shimao, with six pits containing decapitated human heads discovered at the site on the outer rampart alone.
Human remains and jade objects associated with sacrifice were found at other Shimao monuments, as well.
‘The jade objects and human sacrifice may have imbued the very walls of Shimao with ritual and religious potency, amplifying its significance as a monumental center, enhancing the protective efficacy of the walls and making this a place of power in every sense,’ the authors wrote.
Some believe that the culture of pyramid-building and human sacrifice originated in ancient Egypt, while others believe that it goes all the way back to ancient Babylon.
But what everybody should be able to agree upon is that we see evidence of this culture all over the planet, and the truth is that the ancient world was far more strange than most people would dare to imagine.
This article originally appeared on Unexplained Mysteries. About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is publisher of The Most Important News and the author of four books including The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters.