Archaeological Discoveries
in 2001
Archaeological Discoveries
in 2000
Top Ten Archaeological Finds
for 1999
Archaeological Discoveries
in 1999
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Relics at Wanfabozi of Tonghua,
Jilin Province

  The excavation covers an area of more than 6,000 square meters. The site has rich cultural accumulations, covering the period from the Neolithic Age to the Shang and Zhou, the periods of Spring and Autumn and the Warring States, the Western Han, the Wei and Jin and the Ming dynasties. The burial forms are unique, including earth pit graves, stone coffins in earth pit graves, stone outer and inner coffins in earth pit tombs, tombs covered with a large stone, group of stone tombs with large stone cover, group of stone tombs, and group of stone tombs with steps and platform. Also found was a tomb containing 40 corpses, mostly women. The group of stone tombs and the group of stone tombs with steps and platform reflect a special style of funeral during the Koguryo period.
  
  The six archaeological cultural remains classified during this excavation represent six new types of cultures. The remains of the Neolithic Age with distinct relationships between levels and positions are the first find in the southern part of Jilin Province. The find of a pottery li (cooking tripod with hollow legs) of the second stage of the Bronze Age disproved the conventional hypothesis of no li being used on the middle and upper reaches of the Yalu River. The unearthed third stage bronze short sword and the cast models show that the casting industry had appeared in the region during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. The fourth-stage trenches around mountains show that the site was a large village during the Western Han period. It is presumed that it dates from the early stage of the Koguryo period. The pottery wares of the fifth stage date from the middle and late stages of the Koguryo period, showing a blend of the Central Plains and local cultures. The division of stages of the remains linking the Koguryo culture with the local culture of the Bronze Age will have an important impact on the study of the Bronze Age in the Northeast Asia and the remains of the Koguryo period.