InPics: Paleolithic society scene restored in SW China's Mengxihe Site-Xinhua

This photo taken on Dec. 5, 2023 shows a piece of turtle shell unearthed at the Mengxihe Site in Lezhi County of Ziyang, southwest China's Sichuan Province. (Xinhua/Liu Kun)

ZIYANG, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The Mengxihe Site was announced as one of the six most important archaeological findings of 2023 in China on Tuesday, according to the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.

The Mengxihe Site, dating back 50,000 to 70,000 years, has preserved a number of organic matter remains including animal fossils, ebony and plant seeds.

A flood in the summer of 2019 unearthed ebony and animal fossils that had been buried underground for tens of thousands of years, as well as some stone tools used by ancient humans, said Zheng Zhexuan, an archaeologist at the institute.

In 2023, more than 105,000 stone tools, wood tools, bone tools and animal fossils, as well as more than 60,000 relics such as plant seeds, fruits and spores were unearthed. Traces of fire, cutting, carving and polishing left by ancient human behavior were also found.

Mengxihe Site has rarely restored a three-dimensional Paleolithic society scene, which is a major discovery in multiple disciplines and fields. Rich flora and fauna remains will also assist the research in paleophyte, environment, climate and dendrochronology in China.