Fifth Congress of Chinese Archaeology opens in north China's Shanxi Province

TAIYUAN, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- The Fifth Congress of Chinese Archaeology opened on Thursday in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi Province, under the theme of "Archaeology: The Past and the Future."

Scheduled to run through Saturday, the congress draws hundreds of archaeologists from home and abroad, featuring keynote speeches and 28 parallel sessions, with more than 570 academic presentations and 22 public lectures.

Yuncheng, the host city, is where the Xiyin site in Xia County was excavated 100 years ago. The site dates back to the Neolithic Age. The excavation unearthed thousands of pottery fragments and other artifacts associated with the Yangshao culture, which originated around the middle reaches of the Yellow River and dates back 4,700 to 7,000 years.

Led by Chinese archaeologist Li Ji and geologist Yuan Fuli, it was the first modern scientific archaeological excavation independently conducted by Chinese scholars, ushering in a new era for Chinese archaeology and becoming a landmark in modern Chinese archaeology.

Marie Louise Stig Sørensen, professor of Prehistoric Europe and Heritage Studies at the University of Cambridge's Department of Archaeology and a guest at the congress, said she became interested in archaeology related to the Yangshao Culture after working with some young scholars about the importance of the culture.

"It is such a fascinating part of our world history, and at the same time, its archaeology is so similar in some way to what I do in Europe," she said.

Established in 2016, the Congress of Chinese Archaeology aims to showcase the current state and achievements of Chinese archaeology, promote greater openness and international academic exchanges, and advance the overall development of Chinese archaeology.