Today (28th) morning, National Cultural Heritage Administration held a conference on the major project of "Archaeological China", and reported the new archaeological discoveries from Hubei, Yunnan, Wenzhou and Kaifeng. At the same time, National Cultural Heritage Administration also reported the progress of archaeological work in the first to third quarters of 2022.
Among the newly notified discoveries of major archaeological projects in China, a new fossil of an ancient human skull — — "Yunxian people" No.3 skull.
△ The middle part of the picture is a semi-unearthed skull fossil.
According to reports, on May 18, 2022, the fossil was first exposed, the skull was well preserved, there was a small amount of cement on the surface, the skull was full, and the eyebrow arch was obviously raised. It is the most complete homo erectus skull fossil found in the inland of Europe and Asia so far. The newly discovered skull fossil "Yunxian Man" No.3, about 1 million years ago, is in the middle and key link of the evolution of ancient humans in Eurasia for nearly 2 million years. It is an important fossil evidence for exploring the emergence and development of human beings in East Asia and testifying the human history of China for millions of years.
At present, the lower part of the skull fossil is still in the original soil layer, and the right side is partially embedded in the south wall. Subsequently, the extraction and restoration plan will be formulated, and the multidisciplinary comprehensive cross-cutting research on the site will be carried out simultaneously.
Among the latest discoveries of major archaeological projects in China, there are also architectural relics of the Han Dynasty found at the Hepuosuo site in Kunming, Yunnan Province, and a large number of mud seals and bamboo slips have been unearthed, which provide clues for finding the county governance of Yizhou County located in the Western Han Dynasty and are an important demonstration of the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country. The ruins of Zhouqiao and Bianhe River in Kaifeng, Henan Province, are a microcosm of the historical evolution of Kaifeng city from the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties. They are of outstanding universal value for studying the structural layout of Tokyo City in the Northern Song Dynasty and the history and culture of the Grand Canal, and are of great practical significance for protecting and inheriting the Yellow River culture and promoting the construction of the Grand Canal cultural belt. The ruins of Wenzhou ancient port in Zhejiang Province have found the ruins of ancient city water and Luchengmen buildings, docks, plank roads, dry-railing buildings, wells and other relics, which are huge in scale and complete in system, vividly reappearing the prosperity of Wenzhou port in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, and are the historical witness of the ancient maritime Silk Road in China.
In addition, National Cultural Heritage Administration introduced that from the first quarter to the third quarter of 2022, 18 major research projects of the "Archaeological China" have been promoted as a whole, and 254 active archaeological excavation projects have been systematically implemented, and the fifth stage of the research on the origin of Chinese civilization (2020 — In 2024), we will further advance and demonstrate the historical context of the development of Chinese civilization.
(CCTV reporter Tian Yunhua, Zhang Leilei, Yan Hong)