1 . Macaques don’t use the sharp flakes they create for anything, Luncz adds, noting that the monkeys have sharp teeth and don’t need cutting tools. The similar ancient stone tools collected from some of the earliest known sites, however, show evidence of being used for cutting tasks. For example, in Oldowan, a site dating between 3.3 million and 1.5 million years ago, researchers analyzed use-wear patterns on the tools and found that some of the flakes showed damage along their edges, indicating that they had been used for cutting. Cut marks on some fossils revealed that hominins had used stone tools for butchering the animals, making it clear that the sharp stone tools were anything but unintentional by-products of other pounding activities.

2 . Archeologists said on Wednesday they have unearthed the oldest wooden structure ever discovered, dating from nearly half a million years ago, which suggests that our ancestors may have been more advanced than previously thought.

The exceptionally well-preserved wooden structure was found at Kalambo Falls in the north of Zambia near the border with Tanzania. It dates back at least 476,000 years, well before the evolution of Homo sapiens (智人), according to a study describing the find in the journal Nature.

The wood bears cut-marks showing that stone tools were used to join two large logs to make the structure, which is believed to be a platform, walkway or raised dwelling to keep our ancestors above the water. A collection of wooden tools, including a wedge and a digging stick, was also discovered at the site. The ancestors of humans were already known to use wood at this time, but for limited purposes such as starting a fire or hunting.

Larry Barham, an archeologist at the U. K.’s University of Liverpool and the study’s lead author, said the structure was a “chance discovery” made in 2019 while excavating the site located on the banks of the Kalambo River, above a 235-meter waterfall.

Discoveries involving such ancient wood are rare, because it tends to rot leaving behind little trace for the historical record. But the high level of water at Kalambo Falls is believed to have preserved the structure over the centuries.

Excavations at the Kalambo site in the 1950s and 1960s unearthed some wood, but it was not able to be accurately dated. However, this time around, the researchers used a new method called luminescence dating, which determines age by measuring the last time certain minerals were exposed to sufficient heat or sunlight. This revealed that the structure was much older than the researchers had thought, dating back at least 476,000 years.

The discovery of the wooden structure “changed how I thought about these people”, Barham added. “They transformed their surroundings to make life easier, even if it was only by making a platform to sit on by the river to do their daily chores,” he said. “They used their intelligence, imagination and skills to create something they’d never seen before, something that had never previously existed.”

5 . Lingjiatan Ancient Cultural Site

Lingjiatan site is located in Lingjiatan village, Hanshan County, Anhui Province.

·With a history of about 5,600 years, it is the largest and best preserved Neolithic settlement site found in Chaohu Lake Basin in the lower reaches of the Changjiang River.

·The unearthed area is 2,200 square meters, including 1 altar in the late Neolithic age, 66 tombs, 1 relic built with large-area red pottery blocks, 1 house site, and 1,300 precious cultural relics such as delicate jade ritual vessels, stone tools and pottery, of which jade accounted for more than half.

·The “Stonehenge” unearthed at the site is the only site found so far that there are Stonehenge remains in the Neolithic period in China, and its construction age is about 1,000 years earlier than that of Stonehenge in Britain.

·Unearthed “jade dragon”, the flat round jade dragon connected end to end is called “the first dragon in China”.

·The unearthed stone drill is one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the Neolithic Age in China in the 20th century.

·Studying urban elements

Lingjiatan site is the first settlement site in China with hierarchical architecture based on terrain. It plays a noticeable role in studying the evolution of Chinese ancient society and the exchange and collision of East, West, North and South cultures.

·Moving the history of Chinese cities forward for more than 1,000 years.

·Did the Youchao people master the metal smelting technology at that time? Have they produced the most primitive text symbols?

·After the discovery of Lingjiatan site, does Youchao’s birthplace lie in Chaohu Lake Basin?

The recent opening of a new exhibition building at the Sanxingdui Museum, in Guanghan, in Sichuan province, made the place     1     instant tourist hot spot. The bronze heads, golden masks, holy trees and various statues reveal the    2     (mystery) faces of a culture dating back more than 3,000 years.

For those who cannot make it to Guanghan,     3     the extensive site of Sanxingdui is located, an immersive exhibition     4    (equip) with digital technology, titled Hello Sanxingdui,     5     (offer) an alternative means to be awed by the magnificence of this Bronze Age culture. It is running at the Longfu Art Museum in Beijing until Feb 29.

It provides a time-travel experience for both an educational and artistic appeal. The journey begins     6     a brief timeline of texts, photos and videos, showing how Sanxingdui was first discovered in the 1920s, when objects were found by farmers digging an irrigation ditch (灌溉沟渠); and it highlights the important moments in the past century’s continued archaeological efforts, to reveal the myths surrounding Sanxingdui and the secrets yet     7     (uncover).

On show     8     life-size reproductions of dozens of astonishing artifacts, supervised by Sanxingdui Museum, such as 2.6-meter bronze statues, 3.8-meter-wide bronze masks and “the holy tree” standing nearly 4 meters.

Images of these objects found at Sanxingdui and their     9     (pattern) have been digitalized, animated and projected on screens, leading the audience into the ancient kingdom of Shu, a     10     (civilize) that thrived for centuries in the southwest during the Zhou Dynasty, and disappeared suddenly, leaving many myths and legends.