Find dates Chinese civilisation back

Press, 13 August 1986, Page 24

Find dates Chinese civilisation back

NZPA-AP Peking China has found relics in its north-west that could relocate and set back 1000 years the cradle of China’s civilisation, the official People's Daily newspaper reports. It said the findings from the Dadiwan Culture in Gansu Province date back 5000 to 7000 years and shed new light on Neolithic Age people who lived in the upper reaches of the Yellow River. Archaeologists at the Dadiwan site in Qinan County have uncovered 240 ruins of houses of the primitive society, 79 tombs and about 8000 pieces of cultural relics

since digging began in 1978. The earliest relics were more than 1000 years older, than those of the 5000 to 6000 year old Yangshao Culture of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, generally recognised by historians as the birthplace of Chinese civilisation. The report said that among the ruins was a group of buildings in palatial style, representing the height of architecture in the Neolithic period. Archaeologists said the buildings probably were public places for primitive tribes to hold meetings, sacrificial rites, and other ceremonies.