By continuing to browse our site you agree to our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. You can change your cookie settings through your browser.
I agree
Search Trends
SITEMAP
Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
SITEMAP
Copyright © 2024 CGTN. 京ICP备20000184号
Disinformation report hotline: 010-85061466
Ten archaeological discoveries, the earliest of which date back to the Paleolithic age (2.5 million years ago to 10,000 BC), have been included in a list of China's important archaeological discoveries of 2023.
The list was announced by China's National Cultural Heritage Administration on March 22, 2024, in Beijing.
The ten discoveries are:
1. Bashan Paleolithic site in Yishui County, Shandong Province
The Bashan Paleolithic site contains many animal fossils, flints, and quartz products, buried in different layers in the 8-meter-deep stack. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Paleolithic site is located at the lower reaches of the Yihe River, which was first discovered in 2020 from a flood discharge downstream. The collected fossils and stone tools evidencing early human life could date back about 50,000 to 100,000 years.
The fossils are mostly large vertebrate paleontology, antlers, and cattle teeth, among others. The stone products include stone cores, stone chips, and scrapers. The discovery is of great significance to the study of ancient human activities in east China’s Shandong Province.
2. Keqiutou Neolithic site complex in Pingtan County, Fujian Province
Human bone remains discovered at the Keqiutou Neolithic site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
Archaeologists discovered many human bones at the Keqiutou Neolithic site, dating back 7,300 years. The preliminary study shows that the prehistoric human remains of Pingtan County have a close genetic relationship with the ancestors of the Austronesians.
The pottery artifacts uncovered from this site are similar to those found at the Dachakeng ruins in Taiwan, showing a correlation to the cultures across the Taiwan Straits.
3. Mopanshan site in Langxi County, Anhui Province
The Mopanshan relics site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Mopanshan relics site sits in east China and has served as a crossroad for cultural exchange in ancient times. It boasts a cultural deposit spanning from the Neolithic Majiabang Culture to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC).
Experts said that the relics discovered at the site help scholars to learn more about how prehistoric society became increasingly complex and civilized in the region, and how the Chinese civilization evolved to become pluralistic.
4. The Qujialing Neolithic site in Jingmen, Hubei Province
Relics unearthed at the Qujialing Neolithic site in Jingmen City, Hubei Province. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The farmland irrigation and water conservancy structural ruins at the Qujialing Neolithic Site date back 4,200 to 5,900 years. Researchers there believed that the structures were used to combat drought, store water, dispense water for daily use, and irrigate farmlands.
This means that prehistoric humans shifted their relationship with water resources from passive defense to proactive control and utilization.
5. Wangzhuang site in Yongcheng, Henan Province
Jade artifacts of the Dawenkou culture unearthed at the Wangzhuang site in Yongcheng, central China's Henan Province. / Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Dawenkou culture is a Neolithic culture that existed from 4300 to 2600 BC. The site of Wangzhuang Ruins located in Yongcheng City is an important discovery of the Dawenkou culture that has a history originating some 5,000 years ago.
The tombs discovered here have a large number of burial objects, among which the "jade facial covers" is the first such relic found from the Neolithic age (10,000 BC to around 5,000 years ago) in China.
6. Shuyuanjie Cemetery in Zhengzhou, Henan Province
Archeologists working at the Shuyuanjie Cemetery site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Shuyuanjie Cemetery site dates back to the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). The findings show the site could be the earliest aristocratic cemeteries discovered in China and have provided new evidence for the origin of the cemeteries and the development of burial standards in China.
7. The Zhaigou site in Qingjian County, Shaanxi Province
A piece of relic unearthed at the Zhaigou Shang Dynasty site in Qingjian County, Shaanxi Province. / Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Zhaigou site is considered the richest of all known Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) archeological sites in existence, both in terms of size and the number and variety of its artifacts unearthed.
The site has revealed a vast area of rammed earth structures, large tombs, small burial grounds, pottery kilns, and other diverse structural remains scattered across 11 neighboring hills. Nine sets of tombs for high-ranking noblemen were also discovered dating back to the late Shang Dynasty.
8. The Sijiaoping site in Lixian County, Gansu Province
Archeologists working at the Sijiaoping site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Sijiaoping site is a magnificent ancestral temple complex used for royal worship and rituals, dating back to the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC). The large-scale ritual building complex was designed with a symmetrical layout.
The discoveries indicate a new architectural pattern for ancestral temples, which helps enrich the development history of China's state sacrificial buildings and illustrates the style and spiritual essence during the early period of the formation of a unified country in ancient China.
9. The Chencun ceramic kiln site in Huozhou, Shanxi Province
An aerial view of the Chencun ceramic kiln site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The Chencun ceramic kiln site dates back from the Song (960-1279) to the Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, and was a major kiln group producing refined white porcelain in north China.
The discovery here unveils the development of Huozhou kilns, providing evidence of a historically recorded kiln group but less known by people now.
10. Northwest continental slope No. 1 and No. 2 shipwrecks site in the South China Sea
Robotic arms are used in the underwater discovery of a shipwreck site. /Courtesy of National Cultural Heritage Administration
The No. 1 and No. 2 shipwrecks near the northwest continental slope of the South China Sea are both relatively well-preserved and a large number of relics identified as Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) artifacts were unearthed at the two sites.
They demonstrate the fact that Chinese people developed, utilized, and traveled to and from the South China Sea at the time, and serve as evidence of China's trade and cultural exchanges on the Maritime Silk Road.
The discoveries were not only breakthroughs for China's deep-sea archaeology but also significant international archaeological discoveries.