Archaeologists have recently made a significant discovery at the Ancient Guangzhou Archaeological Site, located in the Huangpu district of South China’s Guangdong Province. This site, dating back approximately 4,600 to 4,300 years, has yielded an impressive collection of 419 ruins and 341 artifacts, as reported by Xinhua News Agency.
Key Findings
Moreover, the Ancient Guangzhou Archaeological Site, which is part of ongoing research by the municipal cultural relics and archaeology institute, includes 143 tombs, 140 ash pits or cellars, and 125 column holes. Among the artifacts unearthed, there are pottery and jade decorations that offer valuable insights into the region’s rich cultural history.
Furthermore, Zhang Qianglu, head of the institute, emphasized the site’s importance, noting that it is now considered one of the most crucial Late Neolithic discoveries in the Guangdong region. The complexity and variety of the relics, along with the significant number of tombs, make it a key site for understanding the ancient cultural lineage of Guangzhou and the broader Pearl River Delta region.
The Significance of the Discovery
In addition, this discovery at the Ancient Guangzhou Archaeological Site provides crucial physical evidence for tracing the development of ancient civilizations in the Lingnan region, stretching from the Late Neolithic period to the early Western Han Dynasty,” Zhang explained. He further stressed that these findings are vital for advancing the exploration of the origins of Chinese civilization in this area.
Since 2017, the institute has been conducting detailed excavation and research at the Ancient Guangzhou Archaeological Site. Earlier digs had already uncovered 304 tombs from the Late Neolithic era, yielding a total of 702 artifacts made from pottery, stone, jade, and other materials.