China

The Past

Early ochre workshop discovered in east Asia

The study suggests that the site may represent an early colonisation attempt by modern humans.

New terracotta warriors discovered

Among the new statues is least one figure who appears to be a general, and another who is a middle-ranking army officer.

Climatic change and ancient civilisations

New studies are revealing the impact environmental changes have had on ancient societies around the world.

LEFT The man found in the looting shaft above the tomb was originally thought to be a grave robber, but the new research has cleared his name, revealing that he was in fact the victim of a 1,300 year old murder. IMAGE: Qian Wang

Mystery of a 1,300-year-old murder victim unearthed in China

This discovery shows that the strategy of concealing the bodies of murder victims inside existing tombs has been in use for centuries.

RIGHT This gold mask is of identical form to the massive bronzes recovered from the sacrificial pits of Sanxingdui.

The Treasures of Sanxingdui

The contents of those two pits amaze. They include some of the most remarkable bronzes from the ancient world: human face-masks with protruding eyes, thought to depict Cancong, the mythical first king of Shu.

World News: possible new hominin species, ancient shark attack, Mesolithic honey-gathering

Current Archaeology rounds up some of the latest discoveries across the globe, including the world's oldest shark attack victim found in Japan, a scene of honey-gathering from a cave in Spain, and the analysis of a previously unknown ancient hominin species.

News in brief from China, Guatemala, and Spain

Brief summaries of important archaeological discoveries, including the world's oldest coin mint, ancient Mayan parks, and a cave painting scene of honey-gathering.

Drawn and Written in Stone: an inventory of stepped structures and inscriptions on rock surfaces in Upper Tibet (ca.100 BCE to 1400 CE)

For many thousands of years, humans have inscribed their presence on the landscape. They drew or pecked images of the fanciful, representational, or sacred on the walls of caves, rock shelters, rock faces, and boulders, as well as on structures,…

RIGHT This cranium, found in Harbin City, China, displays a combination of primitive and modern characteristics, leading some researchers to

Ancient human relative identified in China

The fossil human cranium, thought to belong to a male about 50 years old, was found in 1933

Mogao Caves, 1943-1944

The oldest of the Mogao Caves temples that survive date from around AD 420. Among them is Cave 275, built during the Northern Laing period (AD 420-439).

The Past

World’s oldest-known coin mint identified in China

The findings indicate the mint began operating between c. 640 and 550 BC.

800-year-old mistake uncovered by modern imaging

A team of researchers have discovered evidence of a mistake made more than 700 years ago while investigating the painted Buddhist temples in the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, China.

BELOW Proposed regional differences in culinary traditions in China after 2000 BC.

Cooking cereals in prehistoric China

A project looking at the history of crops in prehistoric China has identified differences in regional diets and changes over time, which may be connected to varying cooking practices in these areas.

Below The three balls found in burials at Yanghai cemetery were made of leather, with soft cores of hair

Earliest evidence for ball games in Eurasia

Ball games are known to have been played in Egypt c.4,500 years ago and in Central America at least 3,700 years ago, but it was previously thought that they were not present in Europe and Asia until much later.

Opposite Bi disc, Liangzhu culture, c.3300 2200 BC. Size: 38.8cm below Ferdinand Verbiest’s 1673 armillary sphere in situ at the Beijing observatory. The photograph, from 1909, is by Joseph Rastoul.

China: in the beginning

Chinese rulers held the disciplines of astronomy and cosmology in high regard for millennia. Dalu Jones
previews an exhibition of exquisite objects exploring the connections between Heaven and Earth.

OPPOSITE The Great Wall of China can be truly spectacular. Here we see an iconic stretch of the Ming Great Wall, constructed of fired brick, at Jinshanling in Hebei Province. This, though, is just one of the most celebrated stretches of an incredibly long and complex monument. ABOVE Great Walls. A map showing the course of the various Chinese walls. BELOW Remains of the Han Dynasty Great Wall, constructed of rammed earth, roughly 85km north west of Jiayuguan, Gansu Province. Comparing this to the Ming Great Wall at Jinshanling illustrates how varied the appearance of different stretches could be.

Long division: measuring the Chinese and Roman frontiers

What steps did the Chinese and the Romans take to control their empires? Peter J Brown and David J Breeze have been examining the extraordinary resources emperors were willing to expend in the name of security.

The Past

Chinese Museums: the lure of the East

China’s marvellous ancient treasures are displayed in a number of venerable provincial museums throughout this vast and richly historical country. Seeking expert guidance, we asked Cathy Giangrande and Miriam Clifford, co-authors of two books on the subject – CHINA: museums and the Chinese Museums Association Guide – to choose six of the best archaeological museums and sites to visit when touring China

Left Around 8,000 terracotta warriors were created to guard the burial place of China’s first emperor. Among them was this armoured infantryman, whose right hand once clasped a weapon. The finished sculpture was painted and traces of the original red can still be seen.

Army for the dead: inside the first Chinese emperor’s underground kingdom

Creating the Terracotta Army was an extraordinary achievement. Around 8,000 life-size ceramic men and horses were created in battle formation to protect the burial place of China’s first emperor. But what can modern technology reveal about these faithful soldiers? As a cadre of the figures go on display at Liverpool’s World Museum, Xiuzhen (Janice) Li revealed to Matthew Symonds some of the secrets they took to the grave.

1. Warrior Pit 1, 3rd century BC, Lintong, The figure wears the high hair knot and torso armour typical of higher ranking foot soldiers. Photograph: Lukas Nickel.

The Past

Professor Lukas Nickel on the Terracotta Army’s cultural connections

While studying the Terracotta Warriors in the tomb of China’s first emperor, Professor Lukas Nickel of the University of Vienna came to some interesting conclusions about links between China and the Hellenistic World, as he explains to Dalu Jones

Below The Dagongshan ore district in Nanling county, close to Tongling city.

Xijiadun: revealing domestic copper production on the Yangtze River

How did copper production begin in China? Li Haichao discovers a site that overturns traditional models of the emerging copper industry.