CGTN reported that the third China Archaeology Festival opened on October 18 in Tam Mon Ha city, Ha Nam province, Central China when the country celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of modern Chinese archaeology.
The National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) announced the country's top 100 archaeological discoveries over the past 100 years at the opening ceremony.
Including 29 provinces, autonomous areas, centrally-run cities as well as Hong Kong special administrative region and Taiwan area, these archaeological sites are divided into eight types based on historical periods, extending from the antique stone period to the Ming Dynasty and the Qing Dynasty (1368-1911). 33 of them - the largest number - are from the new stone era.
Ha Nam province has the largest number of archaeological sites, a total of 14 locations, followed by Shandong province in northwest China, with 11 locations.
Some familiar names such as Chu Khau Diem (Zhoukoudian), Luong Chu (Liangzhu) and Tam Tinh Doi ( Sanxingdui) have been on the list.
Chu Khau Diem archaeological site in Beijing
The Chu Khau Diem Archaeological Site - a World Heritage Site recognized by UNESCO in 1987 located in Phong Son District, a suburb of Beijing - is famous for its archaeological discoveries including the first skull of the straw man named Beijing 700,000 years ago and a giant bone colony of the Pachycrocut crane.
More than 200 human remains, 100,000 stone tools and a large number of animal remains have been excavated at this site, giving important clues about human origin and human civilization.
Due to different understandings of archaeological evidence, opinions about the time when the Chinese inhabited this site are also different, 700,000 - 200,000 years ago, 670,000 - 470,000 years ago and no earlier than 530,000 years ago.
The earliest known ancient animals are 690,000 years ago and tools are 670,000 years ago, while some other tools date no earlier than 530,000 years ago.
Luong Chu archaeological site in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province
The Luong Chu archaeological site, hailed as one of the most important heritages of the new stone era in China, displays China's prehistoric rice-growing civilization that existed from 3300 BC to 2300 BC.
Luong Chu Archaeological Site illustrates the transformation from a new stone-dated society to a large-scale integrated political unit with a system of dividing classes, rituals and handicrafts. It includes outstanding examples of early urbanization expressed in land relics, city planning and landscape, social decentralization systems expressed in the difference in cemeteries in cemeteries, in assets, and socio-cultural strategies to organize space and exercise power. It represents the great achievements of China's prehistoric rice civilization more than 5,000 years ago and is a prime example of early urban civilization.
The walls and foundations of large architectural works, tombs, altars, houses, wharves and workshops have been found inside and outside Luong Chu ancient citadel.
On November 29, 2007 in Hangzhou, archaeologists announced that the ancient city relic of more than 2.9km2 and dating back more than 5,000 years was found in the core area of Luong Chu relic. Professor of Beijing University Nghiem Van Minh and other archaeologists pointed out that these are relics of the Luong Chu cultural period, first discovered in the Yangtze River area, and can be called the "first Eastern city", the cradle of Chinese civilization.
In 2017, archaeologists discovered an irrigation system that is up to 5,100 years old, the largest and oldest in the world to date. The 5,100-year-old water project is even older than the discovery of the irrigation system 4,900 years ago by the Milky Way.
Tam Tinh Doi archaeological site in Quang Son, Tu Xuyen province
About 40km from the capital of Chengdu of Sichuan province, the Tam Tinh Doi relic site is considered one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. The excavation has lasted nearly 100 years since the first discovery in the late 1920s.
In 1986, archaeologists discovered two large-scale international donation pits dating back to the Thuong Dynasty (1600-1046 BC). Thousands of rare treasures have been discovered from these two offering pits. Since March 2021, Chinese archaeologists have made major breakthroughs in the six newly discovered donation pits.
According to NCHA, these archaeological discoveries have important scientific value, as they reflect the achievements of Chinese archaeology in the origin of humanity, agriculture and Chinese civilization.
Launched in May, the third China Archaeology Festival attracted a total of 337 archaeological projects nationwide, of which 160 reached the final round.
