Pits of Skulls Found in Shimao: China’s Neolithic City of Mystery

The villagers of China’s dusty Loess Plateau believed for decades that the crumbling rocks near their homes were from China’s Great Wall, which was very common along the area.

As large numbers of jade pieces shaped into disks, blades and scepters were found by locals and looters, suspicions grew as jade was only available at about 1000 miles away from the area and wasn’t even a feature of the Great Wall.

When a team of Chinese archaeologists came to investigate the rubbles, they started unearthing the area and found that the stones weren’t a part of the Great Wall but were the ruins of a magnificent fortress city.

The digging had revealed a 230 feet high pyramid surrounded by more than six miles of protective walls and an inner sanctum containing jade artifacts, painted murals, and gruesome evidence of human sacrifice.

Before the excavations were suspended earlier this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the archaeologists had dug up 70 stunning stone sculptures which were figurines of monsters, serpents, and half-human beasts resembling Bronze Age iconography of China.

The site has been named Shimao (original name undetermined) and carbon dating of its parts date back to around 4,300 years ago i.e. 2,000 years before the oldest section of the Great Wall. As it seems, Shimao flourished for nearly half a millennium in that remote region, and then suddenly, it disappeared.

Shimao now is the largest known Neolithic settlement in China and none of the ancient Chinese texts mentions a city residing so far north of the “cradle of Chinese Civilization”. It had an expanse of 1000 acre and is larger than the Central Park of New York City. Its art and technology had influenced the northern regions and the future dynasties of China.

Along with other discoveries at prehistoric sites, Shimao is forcing historians to rethink the origin of the Chinese civilization.

According to the leader of the dig at Shimao, “Shimao is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of this century.”

Designed for danger, Shimao was built on a conflict zone i.e. a borderland dominated by warfare between farmers of the central plains and herdsmen of the northern steppe. To protect themselves from violent attacks, the Shimao people constructed their 20-tiered pyramid on the highest of the northern hills.

It’s visible from every part of the city and is half the height of the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt built around the same time. Its base, however, is four times larger and the Shimao elites resided at the topmost tier of the pyramid which had a 20-acre palatial complex with amenities.

The pyramid was surrounded by embryonic urban designs and inner and outer perimeter walls. More than 70 small satellite stone towns have also been discovered in the Shimao orbit.

The defense system of civilization is as fascinating as its infrastructure and huge fortifications. However, the most terrible discovery was from underneath the city’s eastern wall which had 80 human skulls clustered in six pits without the skeletons that represent traditions of human sacrifice in this astonishing prehistoric town.

2,100-Year-Old King’s Mausoleum Discovered in China

An elaborate mausoleum that was built for a king 2,100 years ago has been unearthed in China.

Archaeologists discovered numerous precious treasures from jade artifacts and musical instruments to life-sized decorated chariots and weapons, which were buried with king Liu Fei in an area of modern-day Xuyi County.

Liu Fei ruled the kingdom of Jiangdu – part of the Chinese Empire – for 26 years before dying in 128 BC. It is thought that the mausoleum was plundered long ago, but archaeologists still found over 10,000 artefacts, some of which were crafted from gold, silver and jade.

Excavations of the mausoleum, which comprises three tombs as well as pits housing the chariots and weapons, LiveScience reported. According to the journal of Chinese Archaeology, a team from Nanjing Museum examined the remains of a well that surrounded the complex, which was built to be 1,608 ft (490 meters) long.

They worked quickly to document the site, which they said was at risk from quarrying.

A large mound of the earth once protected the king’s tomb, which has two shafts leading to a roomy burial chamber measuring 115ft by 85ft (35 by 26 metres). It contained goods fit for a king in his afterlife, the archaeologists explained.

Historical texts recount the king’s lavish lifestyle, so it came as little surprise to archaeologists that he was buried in such luxurious surroundings.

Weapons discovered in the burial chamber included iron swords, crossbows, knives and more than 20 model chariots, alongside instruments such as chime bells and parts for a stringed instrument called a zither.

Because, according to ancient tradition,  the king needed riches in the afterlife, a hoard of 100,000 coins containing a square hole in the center of each, were buried with him. The banliang coins were made by the first emperor of China.

Goose and deer-shaped lamps were discovered in another part of the chamber as well as a silver basin, while another area, set up like a kitchen, catered for the king’s food needs in the afterlife.

Cauldrons, wine jars, tripods, jugs and cups were found as well as shells, bones and seeds, suggesting that food was left with the king.

Despite the rich selection of artefacts that survived a past plundering, the king’s body was not found in the tomb and his coffins were damaged.

‘Near the coffins many jade pieces and fragments, originally parts of the jade burial suit, were discovered. These pieces also indicate that the inner coffin, originally lacquered and inlaid with jade plaques, was exquisitely manufactured,’ the archaeologists wrote in the journal.

Off the main burial chamber, more pits were found housing a jumble of weapons such as swords and shields, as well as two chariot pits. One contains five life-size chariots, made of wood and elaborately decorated with lacquer. Some parts of the vehicles were inlaid with gold and silver.

Other looted tombs were also discovered, which could belong to high-status individuals. An undamaged ‘jade coffin’ is the only one of its kind to have been found in China.

A 5,000-Year-Old Settlement Found Near Mysterious Sanxingdui Ruins, China

On Tuesday, Chinese archaeologists revealed they had discovered an important site next to the ruins of Sanxingdui, which they claim to be a settlement about 5,000 years old.

For its striking resemblance to the main character in the Angry Birds mobile app, an ancient clay pig figurine has created a sensation on the internet. The fist-size artwork was found under the remains of a tribal settlement in southwestern China dating back almost 5,000 years.

It has sparked a trending topic in the country after people said it looked exactly like the Green Pig in the popular video game.

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Archaeologists found the tiny sculpture while digging in the remains of a small ancient community outside modern-day Guanghan in Sichuan province.

The experts believe that the village was situated about eight kilometres (five miles) outside Sanxingdui, a mysterious Bronze Age kingdom. The tribe likely came into being around 5,000 years ago, and the pig figurine is thought to be 3,200 years old.

The piece of pottery has been described as ‘cute, vivid and delicate’ by the researchers, who say it represents the advanced aesthetic standards of the region’s prehistoric residents.

Chinese internet users expressed their amazement after a picture of the piece of pottery was released by the Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute.

On Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, one person gushed: ‘It is the pig from the Angry Birds!’

Another reader wondered: ‘The Angry Birds? It’s like time travel.’

A third commenter joked: ‘The pig in the Angry birds. You have infringed the copyright.’

The research team claims to have discovered traces of continuous human activity on the archaeological site dating from 5,000 years ago until the dynasties of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912).

Officials plan to excavate 7,000 square meters (75,350 square feet) of the site, which is officially named Guanghan Joint Ruins. By the end of July, they had studied 4,500 square meters (48,440 square feet), according to an official post. 

Apart from the pig figurine, experts found detailed carvings of a dragon and a phoenix under a broken clay plate, a totem symbolizing good fortune.

Other discoveries include daily utensils, such as vases and cups made with porcelain or stone.

Well preserved 700-year-old mummy found by chance by Chinese road workers

If most people think of mummies, they represent Egyptian culture and complex techniques for mummification aimed at bridging life and death and maintaining the survival of the body.

Whereas most mummies found today are a result of this process, there have been rare occasions where a mummified body is not the result of an intentional preservation process, but of some form of natural preservation.

Chinese road workers discovered the extremely well-preserved remains of a woman dating back 700 years to the Ming Dynasty. This discovery provided much insight into the lifestyle of the people from the Ming Dynasty and left many questions. Who was this woman? And how did she remain so well-preserved over the centuries?

The discovery of the Chinese mummy was quite shocking. In Taizhou, in the Jiangsu Province located in Eastern China, road workers were clearing the way to widen a road.

This task involved digging several feet into the ground. They were digging approximately six feet below the surface when they struck a large, solid object.

They quickly realized that it may be a significant find, so they contacted a team of archaeologists from the Taizhou Museum to excavate the area. They eventually determined that this was actually a tomb, and inside they found a three-layered coffin.

Upon opening one the main coffin, the archaeologists saw layers of silk and linens, covered in a brown liquid. When they looked beneath the linens, they discovered the stunning remains of a female.

The remains were almost completely intact, including her body, hair, skin, clothing, and jewelry. Details such as her eyebrows and eyelashes were still perfectly preserved.

Researchers have not been able to definitively establish how old the body is. The woman was believed to have lived during the Ming Dynasty, which dated from 1368 through 1644.

This mean’s the woman’s body could potentially be 700 years old if it dates back to the start of the Dynasty. The woman was dressed in traditional clothing from the Ming Dynasty, and was adorned with several pieces of jewelry, including a striking green ring. From her jewelry and the fine silks she was wrapped in, it is believed that she was a high-ranking civilian.

The coffin also contained bones, ceramics, ancient writings and other relics. The archaeologists who excavated the coffin did not know whether the brown liquid inside the coffin was used intentionally to preserve the body, or if it was just groundwater that had seeped into the coffin.  

However, some researchers have claimed that this body was likely preserved due to being buried in just the right environment. If the temperature and oxygen level in water is just right, bacteria cannot grow, and decomposition can be slowed or halted.

This discovery provides researchers with an intimate look into the customs of the Ming Dynasty. They have a very clear view of the clothing and jewelry people wore, and some of the relics that were used during the time. This can answer many questions about the lifestyle, traditions, and daily activities of the people from that time.

The finding also opened up many new questions as to what conditions led to the extreme preservation of her body over the course of hundreds of years.

There are also questions about who this woman was, what role she played within society, how she died, and whether any portion of her preservation was intentional.

Due to the secluded nature of this discovery, many of these questions may never be answered, as it can be difficult to provide such answers with only one set of remains. If similar discoveries are made in the future, they may provide the information needed to answer these, and other questions about this woman – the accidental mummy.

Archaeologists Find 13,500-Year-Old Bird Figurine in China

The oldest known statuette found in China is an ancient bird recovered from a refuse heap that sheds new light on how our ancestors created 3D art and a new study finds.

Researchers uncovered the miniature carving at the Lingjing site in china, where previous excavations revealed 11 layers each of different ages, from 120,000 years ago to the Bronze Age ..

The item was found in a refuse heap leftover from well diggers who removed most of the fifth layer in 1958.

The location possesses a spring, which “may have attracted prehistoric populations at different times,” said study co-author Francesco d’Errico, an archaeologist at the University of Bordeaux in France.

The figurine depicts a songbird on a rectangular pedestal. The artist deliberately added weight to the sculpture by oversizing the tail to prevent the bird from falling forward, d’Errico said. “The artist knew that making a sculpture is a matter of finding the right balance.”

The sculpture is made of bone that likely came from the limb of an adult medium-size mammal such as a deer, boar, gazelle, or wolf and was burned before carving.

At only 1.9 centimeters (about .75 inches) long and 1.25 centimeters high, the statuette “is so small that it is possible similar carvings were not recognized in previous excavations in which the sediment was not systematically sieved,” d’Errico said.

Other artifacts uncovered from the refuse heap include ceramic potsherds, stone blades, and a pendant made from ostrich eggshell.

Radiocarbon dating of unearthed burned animal remains from the fifth layer, including a bone fragment with gouging marks also seen on the statuette, suggested the artifact is about 13,500 years old, meaning it originated during the Paleolithic, or Old Stone Age when the first human art appeared.

Until now, the oldest known Chinese figurine was a jade songbird about 5,000 years old found near Beijing. This new discovery pushes back the origins of animal sculpture in East Asia by roughly 8,500 years.

Markings on the figurine suggest it was carried around for some time in a leather bag, the researchers said. “Was it a toy? A gaming piece? A religious effigy? Is it art for art’s sake? Something deeper? It’s fascinating to speculate,” said Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia, who did not take part in this research.

Until recently, the earliest human art was found in Europe. However, increasingly scientists have discovered similarly old artwork elsewhere in the world, such as roughly 44,000-year-old cave paintings found on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

Until now, the carving of small figurines was the only artistic practice left that might have potentially originated in Europe, with examples including statuettes carved from mammoth ivory found in Germany dating up to roughly 40,000 years old.

These new findings suggest that prehistoric humans living in China might have independently developed the concept of three-dimensionally representing the world around them — for instance, the bird figurine has a number of features not seen in other Paleolithic sculptures, such as how it was carved from burnt bone, and how it depicts a bird on a pedestal, the researchers noted.

“Before this discovery, we thought that 3D representations were a recent phenomenon in East Asia,” d’Errico said. “This diminutive carving supports the hypothesis that the production of 3D representations does not have a single origin.”

“No doubt, with researchers focusing their attention on East Asia and Southeast Asia at this time, we will see more figurines — of animals or people or other items from life or myths — being recovered over the next few years,” said Michelle Langley, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia, who did not participate in this study.

The world’s most Amazing Meteorite found

When the Fukang meteorite came soaring through the Earth’s atmosphere and crashed on the ground, it showed little sign of beauty. Then they opened it.

Undoubtedly the world’s most amazing meteorite landed was found in China in 2000. It crashed into a mountain range near Fukang, China, which is where it earned its name.

When it slammed into the surface of Earth, there was little sign of the beauty that lay inside. But cutting the Fukang meteorite open yielded a breathtaking sight.

Within the rock, translucent golden crystals of a mineral called olivine gleamed among a silvery honeycomb of nickel-iron.

The rare meteorite weighed about the same as a hatchback when it was discovered in 2000, in the Gobi Desert in China’s Xinjiang Province.

It has since been divided into slices which give the effect of stained glass when the sun shines through them.

An anonymous collector holds the largest portion, which weighs 925lb. in 2008, this piece was expected to fetch $2million (£1.26million) at auction at Bonham’s in New York – but it remained unsold.

It is so valuable that even tiny chunks sell in the region of £20-30 per gram.

Arizona’s Southwest Meteorite Laboratory, which holds about 70lb of the rock, says the remarkable find will turn out to be ‘one of the greatest meteorite discoveries of the 21st century’.

It says the Fukang specimen outshines all other known examples of the pallasite class, which makes up just one percent of all meteorites. However, it is not the biggest – in 2005 space rock hunter Steve Arnold dug up a 1,400lb sample in Kansas.

The Arizona lab’s experts say pallasites, whose make-up of half nickel-iron, half olivine gives them their mosaic-like appearance, are ‘thought to be relics of forming planets’.

They are believed to originate from deep inside intact meteors created during the formation of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago and very few specimens are thought to have survived their descent through Earth’s atmosphere.

February 2005 saw the Chinese space rock transported all the way to the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, in Tucson, Arizona.

The U.S. lab claims their polished slice of the original meteorite is the world’s biggest pallasite cross-section, measuring 36in by 19in.

Researchers Map Great Wall of China’s Northern Line

Tuesday, an Israeli archeology specialist said that the northern line of China’s Great Wall was not designed to stop invading armies but rather to track civilian movements.

The observations of scientists who first traced the 740 kilometers (460-mile), Northern Line, for the first time, their findings challenged previous assumptions.

Gideon Shelach-Lavi, of Hebrew University, who oversaw the two-year report, said, “Before analysis, most people thought the wall was to stop Genghis Khan ‘s army.

But the Northern Line, lying mostly in Mongolia, winds through valleys, is relatively low in height and close to paths, pointing to non-military functions.

“Our conclusion is that it was more about monitoring or blocking the movement of people and livestock, maybe to tax them,” Shelach-Lavi said.

He suggested people may have been seeking warmer southern pastures during a medieval cold spell.

Construction of the Great Wall, which is split into sections that in total stretch for thousands of kilometers, first began in the third century BC and continued for centuries.

The Northern Line, also known as “Genghis Khan’s Wall” in reference to the legendary Mongolian conqueror, was built between the 11th and 13th centuries with pounded earth and dotted with 72 structures in small clusters.

Shelach-Lavi and his team of Israeli, Mongolian and American researchers used drones, high-resolution satellite images and traditional archaeological tools to map out the wall and find artefacts that helped pin down dates.

According to Shelach-Lavi, whose findings from the ongoing study were published in the journal Antiquity, the Northern Line has been largely overlooked by contemporary scientists.

2700-year-old weed found in an Asian grave is still totally smokeable.

Cannabis is as ancient as the dinosaurs. It’s been used by different ethnicities around the world for thousands of years, playing different roles in different cultures. In Czechoslovakia, a hemp rope dating back to 26,900 BC was discovered a decade ago and was associated with the economic activities of the people at that place in that time. Naturally, the cultivation process has changed massively in the years that have passed. One of the greatest problems facing modern cannabis cultivation is working out how the waste that is produced can be managed sustainably. To learn more about how this issue could be overcome it might be worth contacting a service provider like GAIACA.

European farmers grew cannabis Sativa for rope, canvas, and clothing. On the other hand, farmers in central Asia and Siberia grew cannabis ruderalis as cattle fodder.

Ancient India and China used cannabis indica for medical purposes, and whilst they didn’t have the same systems in place as we do now for tracking the stuff (such as how people use Metrc for compliance in oregon, to name one example) it was still quite abundant. But did ancient cultures use it recreationally? Researchers couldn’t be sure. However, a recent discovery in northern Asia has proven that indeed the oldies were getting stoned on cannabis, too. It could be a possibility. We already know that many societies use cannabis for purposes other than to smoke. So, it is a possibility that it was used recreationally. Some research teams were able to find sativa cannabis seeds, ropes, canvas, and other items to prove the use of cannabis as practical materials, so it’s safe to say that the answer lies within this discovery.

The 2,700 Year Old Weed Stash Found in Yanghai Tombs

Researchers recently discovered a weed stash in the Yanghai tombs in northern China. A 2,700-year-old grave of a light-haired Caucasian male, probably in his forties, contained the preserved THC-rich ground bud. Researchers believe that the man must have been a Shaman from the ancient Gushi culture of the Turpan Basin.

Together with the cannabis were other paraphernalia that suggests his shamanic role. Trade tools and religious artifacts were often buried with the dead in ancient cultures. These cultures believed that the dead would carry their treasures with them into the afterlife.

The dry climatic conditions and alkaline soil play a key role in preserving these. For instance, the weed stash still appeared green, though it had lost the skunk-like cannabis odor and taste.

Studying the Weed Stash

An international team of researchers has studied the 789g of cannabis cache and found that it contains tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component found in cannabis that differentiates it from hemp. So this was likely recreational cannabis. Researchers have mainly excavated hemp-derived, CBD-dominant cannabis that could be used medicinally.

Were these ancients getting high on weed? According to the lead researcher Ethan Russo, this ancient bud is very similar to what is grown today around the world. It’s similar to what many people grow for their own personal use, from seeds in their homes. You can click here to research into seeds and the deals you can get on them. In the words of Russo: “We know from both the chemical analysis and genetics that it could produce THC (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid synthase, the main psychoactive chemical in the plant).”

The international team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Botany studied the weed stash to determine its contents. They first thought that the ground up substance was coriander. Genetic testing revealed otherwise.

Understanding Cannabinoids

Cannabis contains over 100 identified cannabinoids, though tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) are the most abundant.

The two compounds have the exact same number of molecules: 21 carbon atoms, 2 oxygen atoms, and 30 hydrogen atoms. But the difference between the two comes from the difference in molecule arrangement.

Moreover, both compounds are similar to endocannabinoids produced in mammalian bodies. Consequently, cannabis’s cannabinoids interact with the endocannabinoid system in a similar fashion. But the unique arrangement of atoms in THC allows it to bind the CB1 receptor and cause the mind-altering effects commonly associated with cannabis.

CBD on the other hand does not bind to this receptor and cannot cause the typical cannabis high. In fact, some studies have shown that CBD can inhibit the mind-altering effect caused by THC.

Putting the Tomb (and its Weed Stash) on Exhibit

In this particular tomb, the cannabis obtained was purely female. This sheds light on the reason for cultivating cannabis in the first place; these people wanted a harvest that was high in THC content.

Given the amount of cannabis found in this one grave, it appears that psychoactive cannabis must have played a key role in the life and culture of the Shaman community.

The Turpan Museum in China holds the weed stash. Researchers hope for future excavations to dig up the remains.