麻豆社

3,000-year-old clay pig looks like it's from Angry Birds

angry-bird-pig.Image source, Rovio/Xin Zhonghua
Image caption,

What do you think? Two pigs in a pod?

Archaeologists have found a 3,000-year-old pig figurine which is reminding people of something much more modern - the pigs from Angry Birds.

The clay figure was discovered at the Lianhe Ruins, in the Sichuan province in China.

The ruins are one of five important dig sites which archaeologists have been investigating since October 2019.

Many people online have compared the ancient figurine to the piggy villains from the Angry Birds games, and movies.

Image source, Provincial Archaeological Institute

Statues of pigs were pretty common in the periods of China's history known as the Shang (1600-1046BC) and Zhou dynasties (1046 - 256 BC) as they were kept as domestic animals.

Xin Zhonghua, a researcher in charge of excavating the Lianhe Ruins said: "True-to-life pigs have been found in the Sanxingdui Ruins. But the pottery pig from the Lianhe Ruins is artistic and adorable."

A team or researchers led by the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute have uncovered ancient relics dating back nearly 5,000 years in Linanhe.

Not far from The Linanhe ruins is the Sanxingdui Ruins - which was discovered by accident in 1929, and is now thought to be one of the most important archaeological sites in the Sichuan province - where around 10,000 relics have been discovered.

The pig figure is on display at the Sanxingdui Museum in China.