””””BEIJING, April 12 (Xinhuanet) -- China announced its
"Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 2001" here Friday, unveiling
ancientmysteries including traditional herbs in prehistoric times, natural
disasters along the Yellow River of 4,000 years ago, the decline of
world-renowned Sanxingdui Ruins, and Southwest China's lost Yelang Ancient
Kingdom.
””””In ancient legend, a man called Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and cured
thousands of people. In east China's Zhejiang Province, an item pottery was
found containing boiled herbs, demonstrating the ancient Chinese in Neolithic
times recognized the medical value of natural plants.
””””In west China's Qinghai Province, human bones in unusual poses and house
ruins were discovered as evidence of earthquakes and floods. They tell of a
series of natural disasters in the upper part of the Yellow River 4,000 years
ago, and echoed the records in Chinese ancient history.
””””The Sanxingdui Ruins in West China's Sichuan Province, a relicssite
covering three square kilometers in Chengdu again drew much attention. The site
holds more than 2,000 antique items and tons of ivory as well as large amounts
of tusks and antlers.
””””According to experts, Chengdu probably became a center of politics, economy
and culture after the decline of Sanxingdui. So it is believed to be a key to
solving the riddle of the Sanxingdui's decline.
””””One of the discoveries included 108 tombs in southwest China's Guizhou
Province which showed different burial forms of the ancient Yelang Kingdom, a
once-strong kingdom in ancient history, and now a lost civilization in Chinese
written texts.
””””Chinese prehistoric archaeology also achieved fruitful results last year,
as a relic site in central China's Shanxi Province fully showed the unique
culture of the western part of the ancientChina, dating back to 10,000 to 20,000
years ago to Paleolithic times.
””””The other five discoveries respectively represent the culture of Zhujiang
River Delta in Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1046 B.C.), the way of keeping sutra in
Leifeng Tower in east China's Zhejiang Province, pottery making in different
historical periods in Henan and Zhejiang, as well as the imperial garden style
of the SouthernSong Dynasty (1127-1279 AD).
””””The annual selection, initiated in 1991, has so far promoted 120
influential archaeological discoveries, recording 10 years of archeology
development in China. Enditem
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