A 2,000-year-old wig has been discovered on an entombed skeleton by archeologists in southwest China’s Sichuan Province, Sichuan Online reported on Tuesday.

The wig dates back to years between the Warring States Period (475-221 BC) and the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 24), said Liu Hong, curator of a local museum in Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture.

The wig, found on the lower part of the skull, was made of hemp rope, according to Zhang Rong, a Liangshan Museum technician who consulted several hemp knitters in the prefecture.

Liu said a joint archeological team sent by the museum and Sichuan University excavated 11 hillside tombs in Sikai District, Zhaojue County in the Daliangshan Mountains during the past two weeks.

The tombs, built of slate and rectangular in shape, are typical to Liangshan and rarely found elsewhere in China. According to the region’s ancient burial traditions, the corpses were buried only after they were air dried, said Liu.

The identity of the tombs’ owners remains a mystery, though some historians have assumed they were ancestors of the Yi nationals living in the area today. "The new finding might provide some clues to scientists who are working to unravel the mystery," said Liu.

Besides the skeleton and its wig, the tombs also contained many earthen pots, a few pieces of bronzeware and three wooden rings engraved with patterns, said Tang Liang, head of the archeological team.

(Xinhua News Agency November 10, 2005)