A Neanderthal site discovered in eastern China includes more than a thousand artifacts

Beijing, (ST) – The Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology in east China’s Shandong Province has unearthed a primitive human site dating back about 13,200 years in the province, which includes more than 1,000 artifacts, including pottery figurines.

Xinhua quoted Zhao Yizhao, a professor at the institute, as saying on Sunday that the site is located in Zhaojiashuiyao Village, Zibo City, and dates back to the transitional period between the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. The main area of the site is about 400 square meters. Most of the discovered cultural relics consist of pottery shards, animal bones and pottery sculptures.

Yizhao added: “We can see that the pottery-making technology at that time was relatively mature, and it is considered the oldest traces of pottery found in Shandong Province so far.” He pointed out that there are cut marks on the bones of some deer and birds, which indicates that the consumption of meat by the ancient Neanderthals was mainly focused on birds and deer.

This discovery provides key evidence for the important transition from the Paleolithic to the Neolithic in the region of northern China, especially in Shandong Province.

Raghda Sawas