China unearths archaeological evidence of humans' transition to settled life

BEIJING, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- China on Wednesday announced milestone archaeological discoveries in its northern region, showing humans' transition from a nomadic lifestyle in the Paleolithic Age to a settled life in the early Neolithic Age.

More than 40 dwelling sites and 800 pieces of artifacts made of pottery, stone, bones, and shells have been discovered at the Sitai ruins covering an area of about 150,000 square meters in Shangyi County, Hebei Province, said the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

The sites and remains fall into five groups of cultural relics of different ages, the administration said, noting that two groups of them date back to the transitional period from the Old Stone Age to the New Stone Age.

A major discovery is that the dwellings were in groups, which serves as evidence of the emergence of early settlement villages in north China, and shows humans' transition from a nomadic lifestyle in the Paleolithic Age to a settled life in the early Neolithic Age, said the administration.