Pre-Qin period settlement sites discovered in SW China

More than 20 human settlement sites from the pre-Qin period were discovered scattered along the Anning river valley plain for nearly 100 kilometers in Southwest China's Sichuan province, according an archaeological briefing in Xichang on Dec 18, 2016.

Human habitation sites from the pre-Qin period discovered along the Anning river valley plain in Southwest 
China's Sichuan Province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

These ruins from the Neolithic Age, dating back more than 4,000 years, prove human activity in the area of Anning river valley plain, the second largest in Sichuan province.

Human habitation sites from the pre-Qin period discovered along the Anning river valley plain in Southwest 
China's Sichuan Province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

So far, a field covering 10,000 square meters has been excavated, but it is far from completion, Chen Wei, an expert working at the site from Relics and Archaeology Institute of Sichuan Province, told Western China Metropolis Daily.

A pit excavated at the settlement site from the pre-Qin period along the Anning river valley plain in Southwest 
China's Sichuan Province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

Through excavation, more than 280 tombs, 500 sites including pits, dwellings and kilns, as well as other articles of daily use were unearthed, which provided valuable materials to study the ancient society and culture of the pre-Qin period.

Ancient tombs excavated at the habitation site from the pre-Qin period along the Anning river valley plain
in Southwest China's Sichuan Province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

Chen said the archaeological discovery is of great significance. It proves to be the earliest human settlement from the Neolithic Age in southwestern Sichuan.

A jar discovered at the habitation site from the pre-Qin period along the Anning river valley plain in 
Southwest China's Sichuan Province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

Besides, this area had the most widely distributed and largest number of human settlements from the pre-Qin period discovered in Sichuan province except for the Chengdu Plain.

Aerial view of the habitation site from the pre-Qin period along the Anning river valley plain in Southwest 
China's Sichuan province [Credit: Western China Metropolis Daily Micro-Blog]

The findings will offer materials to study the ancient tribes' formation and settlement distribution. The discovery of settlement sites from the pre-Qin period was only part of the archaeological achievements made on the construction project along the extended section of Chengdu - Kunming Railway from Emei to Miyi. Since 2014, 48 ancient sites have been spotted.

Source: China Daily [December 19, 2016]