The prosperity of ancient Shu lasted over 1，500 years and it suddenly disappeared like when it suddenly appeared.When history is recorded again，there is a mysterious gap of over 2，000 years.There are many assumptions on the perdition of ancient Shu，but all of them lack enough evidence and stay assumptions.First there is the flood assumption.The north of Sanxindui Site lies the Yazi River，and Mamu River flows through the city.Thus some scholars think that the civilization was destroyed by the flood.However，achaeologists have not found sediment layers left by floods at the site.Then there is the war assumption.The utensils and wares in the site were destroyed or burnt prior to excavation and thisseems to confirm this explanation.But later it was foundthat these wares are from different times over hundreds of years.And there is the migration assumption which does not need too much research.But this assumption does not explain the reason people migrate.Chengdu Plain is rich with good soil and various products.The weather is also mild.It’s hard to justify the calamity assumption and the real reason for the disappearance of ancient Shu in history is still a myth.The continued discovery of Jinsha Site in 2001 after Sanxingdui might provide a persuasive reference to the myth of Sanxingdui civilization.As experts speculate，Jinshais the new political center of ancient Shu state after San Xingdui.The Jinsha civilization existed from t h e l a t e r y e a r s o f t h e Shang Dynasty to the early y e a r s o f t h e S p r i n g a n d Authumn Period（c.1200
–650 BC）.In 316 BC，two re g i m e s i n S u c h u a n，B a and Shu，were destroyedby Qin.The ancient Shu civilization started to blendgradually into the Chinese civilization from then.
Among the numerous bronze wares excavated from Sanxingdui，there are seldom daily utensils.The majority is articles for sacrifice.This indicates that the ancient religious system in Shu is already mature.These articles have their unique cultural characteristics and the bronze statues and gold staffs are very close to those of Maya and Egyptian civilizations in form.The deputy curator o f S a n x i n g d u i M u s e u m，M r.Z h a n g J i z h o n g，c l a i m s that Sanxingdui might have been the center of world pilgrimage due to the numerous sacrificial articles from d i ff e re n t re g i o n s.O v e r 5，0 0 0 s h e l l s w e re e x c a v a t e d from the pit and were identified to have come from the Indian Ocean.Some scholars think these shells were early foreign exchange currency for trade in Sichuan，while others think they are sacrificial articles brought by pilgrims.It would be an inconceivable phenomenon if the assumed isolated Shu had“foreign investments”then.
A n invaluable treas ure was d is c overed from the sacrificial pit and it’s the earliest gold staff in the world.The explanation of its use as a royal staff is alreadyagreed by the academic circle，but the inscribed fish andarrows on it generated lots of arguments.Sanxingdui has already possessed the necessary factors of civilization，lacking only written language.Argument on this issue has a long history.The Biography of Lord Shu recorded that ancient Shu people“did not have any written language and thus did not have ceremonial music.”The History of Huayang State says that the Shu people“are rich with good writings.”Whether the inscriptions on the gold staff are pictures or letters，there is no agreement yet.Some scholars are aiming at deciphering them，others regard the symbols as individual existence and not expressive language.If these pictures can be deciphered，the myth of Sanxingdui will be solved to a great extent.Whether Sanxingdui had written language or not remains to be a myth.
