Archaeology wins a wider audience
考古赢得更广泛的受众
Digital technology and broadcasts help promote heritage findings
数字技术和直播助力推广考古发现
The discovery of thousands of cultural relics at the Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, Sichuan province, was probably this year's biggest archaeological surprise in China.
四川省广汉市的三星堆遗址出土了数千个文化遗物，这或许是今年中国最大的考古惊喜。
An aura of mystery has shrouded this 3,000-year-old site since myriad exotic bronze masks, believed to have been used for sacrificial rituals, were unearthed from two pits in 1986.
1986年三星堆的两个祭祀坑出土了各种各样造型奇异的青铜面具，被认为用作祭祀仪式之用，自那以来神秘感就笼罩着这个有着3000年历史的遗址。
While offering clues to the belief system, social structure and communication with other cultures, the excavation of six other pits at Sanxingdui this year has triggered even more questions about the past, archaeologists said.
考古学家表示，尽管为当时的信仰体系、社会结构以及与其他文化的交流提供了一些线索，今年三星堆其他六个祭祀坑的发掘引起了人们对于过去更多的疑问。
Masks －many more than previously seen among this type of bronze ware－exquisite jade artifacts, silk remnants and many other examples of rare relics were discovered in a new round of excavations.
在新一轮的发掘中，面具之前出土量增加很多，另外还有精美的玉制手工艺品、丝织品遗物等其他许多珍稀遗物。
Public interest in the excavations, which are ongoing, was triggered by two livestream broadcasts from the six pits by China Central Television in March and September.
中国中央电视台在三月和九月对这六个祭祀坑的发掘进行了直播，发掘目前仍在进行，这引起了公众对发掘的兴趣。
Numerous related short video clips went viral and virtual reality technology was used by newsrooms to explain the findings. Animated illustrations and other platforms featuring Sanxingdui led to the site becoming a major cultural attraction this year.
大量相关的短视频迅速传播，虚拟现实技术也被新闻媒体使用来解释考古发现。在动画插图和其他以三星堆为特色平台的推动下，该遗址成为今年的热门文化景点。
For example, on Sina Weibo, Sanxingdui appeared in 16 trending topics within five days in September－five of them viewed more than 100 million times on the platform.
以新浪微博为例，三星堆在九月份的五天之内16次登上热搜话题，其中有5次阅读量超过1亿次。
This year marks the centenary of the birth of modern Chinese archaeology. In 1921, the Yangshao site, which is about 5,000 years old, was found in what is now Sanmenxia, Henan province. The discovery not only revealed a stunning collection of painted pottery, but also created the foundations to study the Neolithic period in China.
2021年是中国现代考古诞生的一百周年。1921年，有大约5000年历史的仰韶文化遗址在今河南省三门峡发现。该发现不仅使一系列彩陶面世，而且也为中国新石器时代的研究奠定基础。
Chinese archaeologists have unveiled the country's past, even in times of war, social unrest, and most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.
甚至是在战争、社会动荡以及最近的新冠肺炎疫情时期，中国的考古学家都在解密中国历史。
A total of 34 research institutions and universities collaborated for a new round of studies on Sanxingdui. Ran Honglin, a leading archaeologist at the Sanxingdui site, credited the site's popularity to the use of new facilities to meet the demands of complex multidisciplinary research.
总共有34家研究机构和大学携手合作，进行新一轮对于三星堆的研究。三星堆考古执行领队冉宏林，将该遗址的受欢迎程度归功于新型设备的使用，从而满足了复杂多学科研究的需求。
Laboratories set up at the site enable real-time conservation and analysis of findings, and tailored shields have been provided through 3D printing technology to protect unearthed relics.
在遗址处建立的实验室使得实时文物修复和分析得以实现，3D打印技术提供了量身定制的保护屏障，用于保护出土的文物。
Such features are new to Chinese archaeology, with many netizens watching the livestream broadcasts feeling as though they were viewing a sci-fi movie.
这都是中国考古的新特色，众多网民观看现场直播，似乎在观看科幻电影。
Ran said: "When archaeology is mixed with popular science, people find it more interesting. Having an open mind is key to promoting archaeology among the public, and archaeologists need to unveil their latest findings promptly."
冉宏林表示，“当考古与大众科学相结合，趣味性会增强。思维开放是在公众之中推广考古的关键，而且考古学家需要迅速揭秘其最新的发现。”
