20,000-year-old prehistoric sites found in Vietnam

Archaeologists have discovered prehistoric sites dating back 20,000 years in Bao Thang district of the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, said Associate Professor Dr. Trinh Nang Chung from the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology on August 20.

Some of the stone tools found in Lao Cai [Credit: VNA]

The sites are in Khu Den and Ngoi Bat in Gia Phu commune, Soi Gia in Xuan Quang commune, and Ngoi Nhu in Son Ha commune.

In areas covering about 20,000 square metres, hundreds of stone artefacts belonging to several prehistoric eras have been unearthed.

The oldest items are working tools made from pebbles found in rivers and springs and dating back 20,000 years.

They also include stone axes and disk-shaped tools dating back to Hoa Binh culture in the New Stone Age about 8,000-9,000 years ago. 4,000-year-old polished axes were also found.

According to Chung, Ngoi Nhu was an uninterrupted residence of prehistoric people in Lao Cai and perhaps a large metal centre in the time of Hung Kings (2879-258 BC).

The excavation is still underway.

Source: Vietnam Plus [August 20, 2015]

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Ruins in Nara likely site of largest settlement in 4th century

Researchers are excavating what could have been one of the nation's largest settlements in the fourth century.

Remains of pit houses and other dugout facilities unearthed at the Nakanishi 
archaeological site in Gose, Nara Prefecture, on Aug. 19 
[Credit: Kazuto Tsukamoto]

The Archaeological Institute of Kashihara said Aug. 19 it has uncovered remains of pit houses and ditches that marked out boundaries at a site known as the Nakanishi ruins.

Researchers hope the discovery will help fill in missing blanks about the region's history.

“The site occupies a prominent area,” said Fumiaki Imao, a senior researcher at the institute, adding that the structures may have been used for rituals under the direct control of the early Yamato imperial court.

The site is adjacent to the famous Akitsu ruins, which yielded evidence of many large and unique structures dating from early fourth century during the Kofun Period.

According to the researchers, the two sites were possibly constructed in an integrated manner. If so, they would constitute one of the largest settlements known from that era.

Little is known about the workings of the Yamato imperial court during the fourth century, and researchers said they hope the excavation project will help shed light on the period.

An artist's rendition of the Akitsu and Nakanishi archaeological sites 
during the Kofun Period (third century to seventh century) 
[Credit: Archaeological Institute of Kashihara]

Among the finds at the Nakanishi ruins are 26 dugout facilities that measure 3 meters by 3 meters to 6.5 meters by 6.5 meters, as well as ditches ranging in width from 30 centimeters to 1 meter that were created to mark out boundaries.

From 2009, researchers realized that many structures at the Akitsu ruins were similar to those at Ise Jingu shrine, along with remains of board fences that surrounded those facilities. The area of interest stretches 150 meters east to west and 100 meters north to south, making it likely the structures were used as religious facilities.

The Nakanishi ruins are located southwest of the Akitsu site and face almost the same direction, researchers said.

That suggests religious facilities and residential structures used to stand in an organized way within an area measuring more than 200 meters east-west and 400 meters north-south that straddle the two archaeological sites.

Hironobu Ishino, an archaeologist who is honorary director of the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Archaeology, noted that the southwestern part of the Nara basin used to be ruled by the powerful Katsuragi family.

“The latest discoveries could represent the family’s exclusive ritual facilities,” he said.

Author: Kazuto Tsukamoto | Source: The Asahi Shimbun [August 20, 2015]

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First Chinese murals might date back more than 4,000 years

A group of recently-discovered murals hinted that the basic production process and rendering techniques used to make Chinese murals might be more than 4,000 years old.

Mural unearthed at the Shimao ruins 
[Credit: China Daily]

Since 2011, continuous excavations by Chinese archaeologists have found some 200 pieces of colorful murals in the Shimao Ruins, the largest completed urban construction in China dating from the late Neolithic (4,600 - 4,000 years ago) age in Shenmu county, Shaanxi province.

The Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology recently issued a report on the discovery, saying that following lab experiments and analysis, the basic production process and rendering techniques used on the murals in Shimao Ruin were similar to those used to make frescoes dating from the Han Dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) and later dynasties. This indicates that the process and techniques were in use more than 4,000 years ago.

Archaeologists found traces of pigment layers on a mural that indicates brush-like tools were used to make the mural, even though the brush is considered to have been invented by Meng Tian, a general in the Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC).

The Shimao ruins in Shaanxi Province [Credit: Shaanxi Provincial 
Archaeological Research Institute]

"The history of using the brush by Chinese people will be rewritten if the tool used to make the mural is confirmed to be a brush," experts said.

The experts also noted that the types of pigments used for the murals were made of glauconite, which was found in the sea, but the Shimao Ruin is located on the Loess Plateau far from the sea.

"The source of the pigment is also a concerned matter for further research," experts said.

According to the historical record, Chinese murals were used to decorate housesfrom early on and used for tombs as early as the Western Zhou Dynasty (1046 – 771 BC). The murals were found mainly in North China, which indicates that the region was the birthplace of the Chinese mural, experts said.

Source: China Daily [August 19, 2015]

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Earliest use of coal fuel found at ancient site in NW China

Humans were burning coal as fuel more than 3,500 years ago, according to a remarkable new discovery in China.

The excavation site of Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Archaeologists have unearthed evidence of coal being burned on an ancient site in the Xinjiang region, northwest China, dating back to the Bronze Age.

The new findings mean that humans were using coal about 500 years earlier than previously thought, reported the People's Daily Online.

An archaeologist shows samples of coal excavated from 
Jiren Taigoukou ruins [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Previously, the earliest recorded use of coal was at the Fushan mine, northeast China, in about 1,000 BC, where the fuel was used to smelt copper.

Researchers from the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology found traces of burnt coal at the ancient settlement in Ili Valley.

Archaeologists of Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology find coal-use 
traces at the excavation site [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Pits discovered at the Jiren Taigoukou Ruins Site indicate the coal may have been used to sustain fires in the village.

Archaeologists also found copper tools on the excavation site that may have been forged using the fuel.

Ceramic vase excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Coal is abundant in the north and north west regions of the country, where woody vegetation is scarce compared to the south.

This may be why people in these areas would have used coal earlier than in other parts of the country, rather than just burning wood.

Copper blade excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins 
[Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

Experts believe that people in northern and western China were the first in the world to use coal regularly as an energy source.

But the commercial use of coal only became widespread during the Song Dynasty in the 11th century AD, when it replaced charcoal in the production of iron.

An archaeologist of Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology shows copper residue
 excavated from Jiren Taigoukou ruins [Credit: Euro Pics(CEN)]

In Europe, the Romans are believed to have used coal in Britain between 100 and 200 AD.

However, it was only until the 18th century that coal was used extensively in Britain as an energy source.

Author: Emily Chan | Source: Daily Mail Online [August 18, 2015]

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International archaeological expedition to Kyrgyzstan yields over 10,000 artefacts

An international archaeological expedition to Lake Issyk Kul, high in the Kyrgyz mountains, has extended the boundaries of the ancient Kyrgyz principality that existed in this area during the Middle Ages.

Rock engravings near Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan 
[Credit: Anson Mackay]

"In the course of archaeological exploration within a radius of 200 kilometers from the shore of the lake there were found new areas with petroglyphs, which, in fact, served as boundary markers. This allows making new assumptions about the boundaries of the Kyrgyz principality: perhaps its territory was more extensive than previously thought," the candidate of historical sciences, professor Boris Konikov states.

The 2015 international archaeological expedition worked in Tuura-Suu village on the southern shore of Issyk-Kul.

Scientists of the Russian Federation and the Kyrgyz Republic found more than 10,000 artefacts, "confirming the high status of ancient settlement existed here as one of the largest trade, craft and religious centers of Karakhanid state."

Most of the archaeological finds are weapons and everyday items. These are the elements of clay and bone utensils, iron weapons, stone jewelry, headstone sculptures.

All findings have been transported to Bishkek, the laboratory of Manas Kyrgyz-Turkish University for cataloguing and further study.

Source: '24.kg' News Agency [August 14, 2015]

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