China announces plans for archaeological work in 14th Five-Year Plan period

China in 2022 will roll out and implement plans for archaeological work in the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), said an official at a national conference held Monday.

Li Qun, head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, made the announcement at the conference, which was attended by heads of cultural heritage administrations across the country.

The conference summarized some of the results of archaeological work in 2021.

According to the conference, 1,388 archaeological projects were conducted in the country last year to protect historical remains involved in construction and development projects.

In addition, the conference named several of the most prominent achievements of the year, including new findings at the Sanxingdui Ruins site in southwest China’s Sichuan Province. The discovery of the site in October was listed as one of the country’s top 100 archaeology findings of the past century. 

New archaeological findings in Tibet shed light on prehistoric human activities

China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration on 13 January 2022 released the latest archaeological findings in southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, shedding light on prehistoric human activities in the region.

At a prehistoric site in Ngari Prefecture, archaeologists discovered continuous stratigraphic accumulations and unearthed over 5,000 pieces of relics, including a large quantity of stoneware, a small number of animal bones and burnt stones, as well as fire and ash pits.

Two types of stoneware-making technology discovered at the site indicated the existence of human activity during two different historical periods.

Systematic excavation at the site has filled the vacuum of prehistoric archaeological culture dating back 8,000 to 10,000 years in the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the administration said. 

Sources:

• ECNS, 2022-01-17. http://www.ecns.cn/news/2022-01-17/detail-ihauveie2087784.shtml

• ECNS, 2022-01-13. http://www.ecns.cn/news/2022-01-13/detail-ihauqxpy8108718.shtml