An archaeological site dating back to the Shu Kingdom 4,000 years ago has been found in Sichuan Province with the recent discovery of finely-ground stoneware and remains of human bone.
Named Shiben, thumb-like and knife-edged stoneware, was dug out of ancient tombs located at Pi County's Hongguang Town in Chengdu, the capital city in southwest China's Sichuan.
The bone remains, around which a great number of pottery pieces were found, was identified as the shank of a human being.
"It is a rare event that footprints of prehistoric human beings have been discovered in the hinterland of Chengdu Plain, though several ancient cities were found there before," said Xie Tao, expert with the city's Cultural Heritage Archaeological Institute.
The discovery of the new ruin proved that the plain was inhabited by highly-civilized humans, he said.
The reason and the route taken by the Shu people as they moved from the west of Shu Kingdom to Chengdu Plain has been a controversial topic among the archaeologists.
"Further excavation of the site will accumulate material data for research," said Chen Jian, another expert with the institute.
(Xinhua News Agency June 11, 2003)
