HARBIN, June 11 (Xinhuanet) -- A Sino-Russian archaeological team
announced on earlier this month that the original settlements on
both banks of the Heilongjiang (Amur) River were very similar and
the region may have been an important route for humans migrating
from Asia to America.
   This is the first time China and Russia have jointly studied
the original settlements along their border river.
   The Heilongjiang River is located in the central area of
northeast Asia, close to Bering Strait which connects Asia to
North America. Therefore the original river settlements have
attracted wide attention from China, Russia, the United States,
Japan and the Republic of Korea (ROK).
   Zhang Wei, head of the joint archaeological team told Xinhua
that their explorations started in July 2001. So far more than 300
stoneware and earthenware pieces produced between 1300-9000 years
ago in the early period of the Neolithic Age have been unearthed
in the suburb of Habarovsk, a city near the river.
   Yu Huili, a member of the joint archaeological team, said that
among hunting tools found such as stone spearheads and stone
swords, a stone pendant used to weigh down a fishing net in the
river was the first discovery of a fishing tool in the
Heilongjiang River Valley. It demonstrated that both hunting and
fishing were commonly practised in the Heilongjiang Valley as
early as the beginning of the Neolithic Age.
   Archaeologists have also found from their study that the
ancient people selected materials very carefully before producing
stoneware. And that stoneware includes both chipped stone
implements and ground stone implements, which demonstrates again
that as early as during the transitional period between the
Paleolithic Age and the Neolithic Age, human beings were already
living in the Heilongjiang River valley.
   Chinese and Russian archaeologists also agree that such a big
quantity and high quality of stoneware is rarely seen compared
with stoneware of the same age discovered in other parts of the
world. It reflects that settlements in the Heilongjiang River
valley were well developed in the early Neolithic Age.
   The theory has long existed that humans migrated from Asia to
America via the Far East because calculations show that during a
drop in sea levels between 12,000 and 25,000 years ago, Bering
Strait emerged from the sea, creating the only land link between
Asia and America.
   More evidence supporting the theory is that the physical looks
of American Indian and Maya peoples were quite similar to early
Asians.
   Archaeologists say that the new finds along the Heilongjiang
River also back the theory as the stoneware proves that the time
when human activities began was quite close to the time the land
link emerged.
   Another striking fact is that earlier this year, Chinese
archaeologists discovered a site on China's side of the border
river with similar remains to those discovered at Habarovsk.
   Zhang said that it meant that the original settlements on both
banks were quite similar. In future, China and Russia will
strengthen cooperation to seek more evidence supporting  the view.
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