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| Relics Give Clues to China's Multi-cultural Origins |
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China's Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of 2005 were unveiled last night in Beijing with more than half of them outside the Yellow River Valley, which is considered the cradle of Chinese civilization. Experts said that these sites might help to shed some light on China's multiple cultural origins. The Xiaohuangshan relics in east China's Zhejiang Province, which were excavated early last year, are an example. The relics, which date back between 8,000 and 10,000 years, could rewrite the country's archaeological history as they are much older than the Hemudu site in the same province, which was previously believed to have nurtured the earliest Neolithic culture in China's south about 7,000 years ago. At the site, researchers found several deep ditches which they believed were used as storerooms. The ditches also indicate the use of barbecues. In southwest China, a large number of sacrificial pits were found among the relics in Zhongshui, Guizhou Province. Inside the pits, crockery ranging from the late New Stone Age to the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 24) was uncovered, providing strong evidence for future research into the rice-growing culture of the Zhongshui area 3,100 years ago. In east China's Fujian Province, archaeologists discovered six kilns from the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC) in Pucheng, a city in the north of the province. More than 300 pieces, including pottery, stoneware and bronze implements have been excavated. Researchers are continuing work in the area. "It is the largest group of kilns we've found to date," according to archaeologist Xu Pingfang. Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of 2005 Xiaohuangshan Relics, Zhejiang Province: Neolithic culture (China Daily May 10, 2006) |
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