8,000-year-old shell mound relic unearthed in Zhejiang Province

Archaeologists in East China's Zhejiang Province said Saturday they have discovered a prehistoric shell mound of 8,000 years old at the site of the Jingtoushan ruins in the province.

The Jingtoushan ruins in the city of Yuyao, administered by Ningbo Municipality, were discovered during a drilling survey for factory construction in 2013. Archaeologists later identified the site as the earliest and most deeply buried known shell mound site in the coastal areas of China.

Tests by the carbon-14 lab of Peking University concluded that the site was between 7,800 and 8,300 years old - 1,000 years earlier than the city's Hemudu culture ruins, which are believed to be the origin of humanity in Ningbo.

A large number of exquisite artifacts such as pottery, stone tools, wood, bone and shellfish, and the remains of early rice cultivation, as well as abundant aquatic, terrestrial plants and animals remains have been unearthed since the digging began in September of 2019.