Heavyweight! Discovery of millions of years of continuous ancient human cultural relics in the Yellow River Basin | Paleolithic | Relics
On July 9, Luo Wenli, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Bureau of Cultural Relics, released the latest achievements of archaeological excavation and research in the Paleolithic period in the Yellow River basin of Shaanxi Province at the launch ceremony of the online theme publicity of "China in a Prosperous Age" jointly guided by the Central Cyberspace Office, the National Cutural Heritage Administration, the People's Daily and the Cyberspace Commission of the Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee:
From 2019 to 2023, more than 150 Paleolithic sites were discovered on the west bank of the Yellow River, along with its tributaries such as the Wuding River and the Beiluo River, showcasing a diverse range of stone tools and techniques, showcasing the never-ending survival of ancient humans from over 700000 to 10000 years ago;
In 2021-2022, the first excavation in the Nanluo River Basin revealed a layer of sedimentary material up to 24 meters thick, revealing ancient human cultural relics that lasted for millions of years and were basically continuous, dating back more than 1.1 million to 30000 years;
From 2022 to 2023, the discovery of Paleolithic sites in the Shichuan River Basin for the first time filled the gap in the distribution of Paleolithic sites in the vast central region of the Wei River. Especially at the Miaogou site, a typical loess profile containing abundant stone artifacts dating back over 600000 to 30000 years ago was discovered, tracing the activity of ancient humans in the area back to about 600000 years ago. In the Zhuhuangbao site, over 7000 stone artifacts have been excavated from multiple continuous cultural layers dating back 130000-40000 years, demonstrating strong transitional characteristics of the middle and late Paleolithic culture. This provides valuable information for constructing the evolutionary sequence of Paleolithic culture in the middle reaches of the Yellow River.
Luo Wenli, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Shaanxi Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau. Photo by Western Internet King Jing Sheng
"In the past, important ancient human fossils such as Lantian Man, Dali Man, and Huanglong Man were discovered in Shaanxi, which basically constructed a relatively complete ancient human evolution chain in China for millions of years." Luo Wenli said, "The above new discoveries provide valuable new information for the study of ancient culture in the Yellow River Basin. The significant characteristics of continuous development and continuity in the production technology of ancient human stone tools in the region have further demonstrated the uninterrupted human development history of China for millions of years."
