CMG releases top 10 news of archaeological discoveries in China

1. Sophisticated wooden tools found in SW China reveals early human ingenuity

A cache of 35 remarkably well-preserved wooden tools has been unearthed in southwest China, dating back around 300,000 years, offering new insights into early human technology in East Asia.

The discovery at the Gantangqing site in southwest China's Yunnan Province marks the earliest known evidence of complex wooden tool technology in East Asia.

Alongside the wooden artifacts, a wealth of associated cultural relics, including stone implements, antler "soft hammers," animal fossils and plant remains, was also found during the excavation.

The findings were published on July 4 in the journal Science.

2. China confirmed as one of the origin centers of adzuki beans

China has been confirmed as one of the centers of origin of the adzuki bean (Vigna angularis), according to a study published earlier this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) of the United States of America by an international research team led by Chinese scholars.

The team discovered carbonized adzuki bean remains dating back about 9,000 years at the Xiaogao site of the Houli culture in the city of Zibo, east China's Shandong Province. Using archaeobotanical analysis and radiocarbon dating, researchers identified 45 carbonized adzuki beans among more than 32,000 plant remains collected from the site.

3. 8,100-year-old site in Jiangsu identified as 'earliest Jiangnan'

Chinese archaeologists have confirmed that the Baojia site in Liyang City, east China's Jiangsu Province, dates back 8,100 to 7,500 years ago. 

First discovered in 2022, the prehistoric site is located on a terrace rising above the surrounding area and currently covers 20,000 to 30,000 square meters.

According to experts, the site, discovered on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and north of the Qiantang River, fills a crucial gap in the Neolithic cultural sequence of the Taihu Lake region, while its distinctive cultural features have been described as the "earliest Jiangnan."

The region located in the coastal area south of the Yangtze, which is called "Jiangnan" in Chinese, is an area that boasts rich agriculture, extensive trade and influential artistic production in China.

4. China's earliest-known wooden coffins unearthed in Henan

Recent excavations have revealed traces of wooden coffins in ancient tombs discovered in central China, pushing back the understanding of when China's coffin burial tradition began to more than 8,000 years ago.

According to Henan Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, this evidence of wooden coffins was recently unearthed in Jiahu Village in Wuyang County of Henan Province. Previously, the Jiahu site gained attention for yielding China's earliest-known musical instruments – bone flutes.

5. Ancient DNA reveals kinship, social structure of China's prehistoric Shimao city

Scientists have harnessed ancient DNA to reconstruct the intricate social structure of China's prehistoric Shimao city, revealing a genetically diverse society anchored in the authority of patrilineal clans.

The 4-million-square-meter Shimao city is the largest known prehistoric settlement in China. Its sophisticated fortifications, including a pyramid-like platform, cyclopean stone walls, palatial complexes and stone carving, along with high-status artifacts like exquisite jades, point to a highly complex, stratified society.

A research team analyzed DNA extracted from the remains of 144 individuals excavated from Shimao's core areas and its surrounding satellite settlements. Genetic analysis shows that the Shimao people could trace the bulk of their ancestry to local Yangshao culture farmers who tilled the Loess Plateau more than a millennium earlier, underscoring an unbroken chain of regional genetic continuity.

6. Location of Yue State capital confirmed by new archaeological discoveries

The ancient city of Shaoxing in east China's Zhejiang Province is a site famous for its role as the capital established by King Goujian during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty (770 BC-256 BC). King Goujian is a legendary figure in Chinese history who is remembered for his perseverance in overcoming defeat and avenging himself against his foes. 

At the Tashan and Changfang sites, Neolithic sand-tempered pottery, red pottery, jade artifacts and other relics were unearthed from a depth of three meters below the surface for the first time. The unearthed artifacts, which reflect sacrificial activities, closely align with descriptions in ancient texts, providing important references for studying the ceremonial systems of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.

7. Major archaeological discoveries at Wuwangdun revive the Chu state ritual and musical civilization

At the Wuwangdun tomb in Huainan City, east China's Anhui Province, archaeological discoveries are shedding new light on the ritual and musical civilization of the ancient state of Chu. The Wuwangdun tomb is the only Chu royal mausoleum in China that has been scientifically excavated to date.

Among more than 10,000 unearthed artifacts, musical instruments stand out for their sheer number and diversity. More than 50 instruments, including the se (an ancient Chinese plucked zither) and over 20 ancient flute-like reed instruments, the sheng and yu, have been identified. Some of the ses measure over two meters in length, making them the largest examples ever found in China.

8. Gibbon unearthed in tomb of China's first emperor Qinshihuang's grandmother verified to be a new extinct species

A gibbon unearthed from the tomb of the grandmother of Qinshihuang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), represents an extinct new species of Nomascus. Using ancient mitochondrial DNA sequencing, archaeologists determined that the gibbon remains excavated from Empress Dowager Xia's mausoleum in Xi'an City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, belonged to a new species of Nomascus. It was named the "Junzi imperialis," and it is closely related to today's Hainan gibbon.

9. 2,200-yr-old engraved stone discovery illuminates Chinese civilization on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

In the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of northwest China, archaeologists have uncovered a rare inscription dating back more than 2,000 years to the Qin Dynasty. At an altitude of 4,306 meters, the inscription is carved into the base of a quartz sandstone rock, covering an area of about 0.16 square meters.

Subsequent research revealed that this stone, which dates back to the Qin Dynasty, is the only known inscription still preserved at its original location and at the highest altitude from the era following Emperor Qinshihuang's unification of China.

10. Book of Songs from Chinese imperial tomb proves the oldest complete copy ever found

At the famed tomb of the Marquis of Haihun in Nanchang City, capital of east China's Jiangxi Province, archaeologists have confirmed the discovery of China's first ever-known complete version of the Book of Songs on bamboo slips from the Qin (221-207 BC) and Han (202 BC-220 AD) periods, dating back some 2,000 years.

Infrared scans clearly identified key information such as a total of "305 poems" and "7,274 lines," proving it was a full copy when the classic work was buried in the tomb.