Mysterious Auto-driving "Popeye" Culture of Chengdu

The Sanxingdui Museum near Chengdu is one of the two most interesting museums I've seen in China. It's interesting because the ancient (1400 BC) culture that is on display here is unlike anything else in China. The otherworldly sculptures and depictions of their gods look like something out of the Middle East. There's a lot of debate about what happened to the Sanxingdui culture because it just seems to have disappeared. Oddly enough, there's not a mention of the culture in the ancient Chinese records.

The bronze sculptures of the Sanxingdui gods feature protruding eyes, or "popeyes" - meant to symbolize the god's ability to see all. One of the bronze castings seems to show a steering wheel but the scholars call it a sun wheel. I prefer to use my imagination.