4000-year-old tombs have been discovered in Shanghai (China). Five tombs with skulls and human remains as well as pottery and animal bodies were excavated from the northwestern corner of an archeological site in the city's Songjiang District. Remnants of 4000-year-old buildings were also found to the north of the site beside a lake.
     Dozens of wood stakes discovered at the scene were very rare, said an archaeologist working at the scene. The tombstones faced in different directions which is not the tradition of Liangzhu Culture, a Neolithic jade culture in the Yangtze River Delta, the report said.
     A road with its surface paved with pieces of pottery stretched northwest to southeast at the western part of the archeological site showing obvious signs of human activity. Houses there were found built on stakes or with strong walls. Holes found in the ground may have had different functions and some might have been used as barns, according to Song Jian, head of the archaeology department of the city.
     Experts have dug out large quantities of ancient remains belonging to the Neolithic period or the later Zhou, Han, Song and Yuan dynasties at the site which was first uncovered in 1958 in Songjiang's Guangfulin Village. Tracks of migrants from central China's Henan Province were found at the site, which demonstrated the merging of the civilizations of China's Yellow River and Yangtze River civilizations. The archeological site is expected to become a cultural park before the 2010 World Expo, according to Songjiang government.

Source: Shangay Daily (18 June 2008)