A growing number of Chinese historians and archeologists are convinced ties with the West have a history of 5 000 years, rather than 2 000 years as previously thought, state media said on Wednesday.
The new theories are based on the discovery in China of artefacts dating back as early as 3000 BC that are not unlike similar objects linked to ancient Egypt, Xinhua news agency reported.
”The earliest date for East-West exchanges might surpass our imagination,” said Wang Hui, an archeologist specialising in the ancient Silk Road.
What has excited archeologists the most is a number of mace heads, small figures in the shape of balls, peaches and pentagrams that used to decorate staves carried by persons of rank.
Some of these objects are 5 000 years old and are not unlike similar objects used for the same purpose in Pharaonic Egypt.
If an East-West link this ancient can be established, it will confound current conventional wisdom, according to Xinhua.
It is commonly believed that regular exchanges between China and the West only began two millennia ago, at the height of the Roman Empire, when the Silk Road was established.
Chinese scholars believe that earlier exchanges were probably carried out via nomadic tribes roaming the vast expanses of Central Asia, Xinhua said.
While some Chinese historians are seeking to add millennia to their country’s ties with Europe, others focus on the alleged forgotten history of China’s explorations across the Pacific.
Some local scholars claim evidence shows ancient Chinese sailors were in regular contact with indigenous American peoples centuries before Columbus. – Sapa-AFP