Scholarscheckahumanskeletonunearthedatthesite.ThelatestdiscoveriesattheNeolithicsettlementofSanxingcunintheYangtzeRiver'slowerreacheswererecentlyhighlightedatthefifthShanghaiArchaeologyForum.Thesite,datingfrom6,500to5,500yearsago,inwhatistodayJintandistrictinChangzhou,Jiangsuprovince,wasfoundduringthesecondnationalcensusofculturalrelicsin1985.Thesix-yearexcavationcarriedoutthereinthe1990s,involvedtheunearthingofmorethan1,000Neolithictombs,4,000artifactsand1,200well-preservedhumanbones.ItwasofficiallylistedasoneofChina'sTop10ArchaeologicalDiscoveriesin1998.Thelatestexcavationstherestartedin2022,andarecontinuingwhatwasstarted30yearsago.ItisbeingcarriedoutbytheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences'InstituteofArchaeology,theNanjingMuseum,theChangzhouInstituteofArchaeologyandtheJintanMuseum.Thenewexcavationshaveuncoveredmorethan570findsfromtheNeolithicperiodtotheQingDynasty(1644-1911).ThehighlightisasettlementdatingbacktothemiddleandlateperiodsoftheMajiabangCultureandtheearlyperiodoftheSongzeCulture.TheseNeolithicculturesinthelowerreachesoftheYangtzeRiverdatebackroughly6,000and5,500years,respectively.Thesitecoversabout350,000squaremeters.Aroughly10,000-square-meterloessplatformstandsinthemiddle.Altogether345tombs,210ashpits,12housesandotherstructures,aswellasabout1,000artifactshavebeenunearthedduringthelatestexcavations,InstituteofArchaeologyresearcherLiMoransays.BasedonthedistributionpatternsofNeolithicremainsandartifacts,theentiresitecanseeminglybedividedintofunctionalzones,includingresidential,burial,andbone-toolandpotteryproductionareas."Thistime,we'replanningtoexcavatethecentralloessplatform,thetombsinthesouth,andtheresidentialandhandicraftworkshopareasinthenorth,andexpecttodevelopapanoramicviewofhowpeoplelivedthereabout6,000yearsago,"saysLi.12Next|Aritualobjectwithastoneyueaxeandtwodecoratedpartsfoundatthesite.Ahighlightoftheartifactsisaritualobjectmadeofthreeparts—astoneyueaxe,aboneornamentonitstopandanivorydecorationatitsbase.It'sbelievedtherewaslikelyahandleconnectingthethreethathasn'tbeenfound.SimilarartifactshavebeenfoundintheArchaeologicalRuinsofLiangzhuCity,aUNESCOWorldHeritageSiteinHangzhou,Zhejiangprovince,buttheonefromSanxingcunisevenolder,saysInstituteofArchaeologyresearcherLiXinwei."Itseemstheregardfortheyueaxeasasymbolofpowerandthecustomofdecoratingitpersisted,andtheoldestspecimentodatecomesfromthissite,"saysLiXinwei.Consequently,thisexcavationmayenhanceunderstandingofthelineageofancientculturesintheYangtzeRiver'slowerreaches,saysLiMoran.CarvedboneboardswithpatternsofconcentriccirclesanddottedlinesfoundattheSanxingcunsiteinChangzhou,Jiangsuprovince.Fourcarvedboneboards,whichhadneverbeenfoundinChinabefore,werediscoveredinatombonthesite.Thegravebelongedtoayoungfemale,who'sthoughttohavebeentheleader,sincehertombseemedtoconveythemoststatusamongthoseonthesitefromthattime.Another15funeraryobjects,includingbonehairclaspsandspoons,andjadeartifacts,werediscoveredinside.Thefindsuggestsamatriarchalsocietywithafemaleleader.Theboardsadornedwithconcentriccirclesanddottedlineswerefoundontheleftsideofherchest.ThesetwopatternsaretypicaloftheNeolithic,HebeiNormalUniversityarchaeologyprofessorTangHuishengsays.Therearedifferenttheoriesastotheirfunctions.Somescholarsbelievetheywereusedtomakerecords,whileothersbelievetheymayhaveservedreligiousormagicalpurposes.MostofthehumanbonesfoundatSanxingcunwerewell-preserved."They'rehardandsolid,whereasmosthumanbonesfoundintheYangtze'slowerreachesfromthistimearen't,"LiMoransays."ThisfillsinsomegapsinthesamplesbetweenChina'snorthandsouthduringtheNeolithic."Editor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.