Oracle bone scripts unearthed in Yin Ruins or Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province, central China. /CFP
China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on Thursday briefed the media in Beijing about the latest progress of archaeological research at the Yin Ruins or Yinxu, a world heritage site in Anyang City, central China's Henan Province.
Chinese archaeologists began excavations in Yinxu – the capital of the late Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) – in 1928. Since then, they have discovered important sites, such as the royal temple, residences, royal cemetery, palace and handicrafts workshop, the administration said.
Aerial view of the royal cemetery in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province, central China, May 12, 2020. /CFP
Xu Lianggao, a researcher from the Institute of Archaeology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reviewed the archaeological history of Yin Ruins over the past 90 years and pointed out that the archaeology of Yinxu systematically showed the social and cultural features of the Shang Dynasty and the development achievements of the Shang civilization.
A large number of copper and pottery artifacts along with remnants of living spaces and cemeteries have been found in the handicrafts workshop area, while the royal temple area houses large ponds, watercourses and related architectural relics, the administration said.
Bronze ware relics at Yin Ruins Museum in Anyang, Henan Province, central China, July 13, 2017. /CFP
A system of roads has also been unveiled within Yinxu. About a kilometer south of the royal temple, two roads connecting the palace area from south to north have been discovered, it added.
Moreover, a large number of oracle bone scripts, bronze ware, pottery, jade and stone tools, and other precious cultural relics have also been unearthed.
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006, Yinxu site showcases more than 3,000-year-old Yin-Shang culture, and was named the first of China's 100 archaeological discoveries in the 20th century.
Oracle bone scripts discovered in Yinxu, Anyang City, Henan Province, central China./CMG
The oracle bone scripts discovered at the ruins are considered to be the oldest Chinese inscriptions. First unearthed in Anyang in 1899, it is the only text in ancient Chinese characters that has been passed down to the present.
So far, about 150,000 pieces of oracle bone inscriptions have been found, with the number of single characters reaching more than 4,000. The contents of oracle-bone inscriptions involve various aspects of politics and life in the Shang Dynasty.
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