Ancient stoneware unearthed from China's Three Gorges area

CHONGQING, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- A collection of ancient stoneware has been unearthed from the Longgupo Site in the Three Gorges area in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Longgupo Site is located in Miaoyu Township in Wushan County, covering an area of about 1,300 square meters. The site is believed to be 2 million to 2.5 million years old and is one of the earliest ancient human sites in Eurasia.

The fifth phase of archaeological excavation work on the site has been recently completed. According to the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum, a considerable number of stoneware have been unearthed which revealed valuable information such as relic strata and three-dimensional coordinates. This discovery has laid a foundation for further exploration of artifacts with distinct manual traces and related research.

During this excavation, scientific and technological methods such as three-dimensional digital scanning modeling were used, and some innovations in excavation concepts, methods, and technologies were introduced during the process.

"This is the most comprehensive and multidisciplinary excavation involving modern scientific and technological means since the first excavation of Longgupo Site in 1985," said an official of the Chongqing China Three Gorges Museum.

This excavation is expected to yield valuable scientific data for the future protection and utilization of the site, as well as insights into the evolution of the surrounding environment and the origin and evolution of human beings.