Archaeologists have discovered carved characters on rocks dating back more than 3,000 years in Gutian township, Liancheng county, eastern China's Fujian Province.

　　Professor Deng Xiaohua, curator of the Mankind Museum of Xiamen University in the port city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, believes that the carved characters were characters used by the Min and Yue people in ancient times (ancient Fujian and east Zhejiang local people, respectively).

　　The characters are smooth and complete and have abstract lines. The biggest character is 15 cm. One rock carries 12 characters, more than any other rock. But these characters carry signs that look illegible and mysterious.

　　Local people gather the characters were possibly carved by the original local inhabitants.

(Xinhua 11/13/2000)