Breakthrough findings span from Paleolithic period to Qing Dynasty

Several of China's breakthrough discoveries in archaeology last year shared the spotlight on Wednesday at a forum in Beijing organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Archaeology, as the institute released its annual list of top 6 new archaeological discoveries.

The discovered sites and items, spanning from the Paleolithic period of the Stone Age to the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), provide outstanding examples from more than 1,700 archaeological excavations across the country in 2024, said Qiao Yunfei, deputy director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration.

Excavations at the Dadong Site in Helong, Jilin province, have unveiled world-class discoveries from the Paleolithic period, as the site has been found to be the largest wilderness site from the late Paleolithic era with the richest cultural remains yet found in Northeast Asia.