A treasure consisting of over 100 jade artifacts from the Stone Age was discovered by archaeologists in Inner Mongolia. Among them was the largest jade dragon ever found in the Hongshan culture, which thrived in this region during the Neolithic era.
It was unearthed in a stone tomb located in the city of Chifeng, as reported by the Chinese state news agency Xinhua. The dimensions of the dragon are 15.8 cm in length, 9.5 cm in width, and 3 cm in thickness. It was discovered in a unique round tomb with a square altar positioned to the south of it. In addition to the jade items, human skeletal remains and clay artifacts were also found at this site.
The artifacts date back approximately 5100-5000 years. They are linked to the Hongshan culture, which flourished in Inner Mongolia and the neighboring provinces of Liaoning and Hebei during the Stone Age. This culture produced some of the earliest known jade objects in the world, typically used for burial rituals. Although over 1100 sites of the Hongshan culture have been excavated, this tumulus is the largest of its kind discovered in Inner Mongolia.
Another relic found at the site was a jade headdress, resembling an artifact created by representatives of another distant culture in present-day Anhui province. Scholars believe that both populations likely engaged in long-distance trade.
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