A 5,000-year-old discovery made in an ancient cemetery in northern China could finally reveal how Chinese civilizations emerged.
Archaeologists have unearthed more than a hundred jade relics in the city of Chifeng, including three dragons, the largest of which was about half a foot long.
The elaborate cemetery consisted of a circular grave and a sacrificial altar, revealing the prehistoric culture of the Hongshan who lived in the region around 3000 BC.
The relics were similar to ancient artifacts previously found in other provinces and suggested that Hongshan culture drew inspiration from three other societies living at least 100 miles away.
Archaeologists found three dragons among a hundred jade relics in an ancient cemetery in China
The relics were found under a circular grave in the Yuanbaoshan Cemetery
The team determined that the Hongshan civilization may have exchanged artistic ideas with the Yangshao and Liangzhu cultures.
Researchers from the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences recovered the jade relics from Yuanbaoshan Cemetery, along with ruins, pottery and human remains.
Three dragons were among the relics unearthed beneath the walls of the circular tomb, approximately 75 feet in diameter.
The jade dragons looked plumper and stubborn than the dragons made today.
In China, jade dragons have long been a symbol of good luck and protection from evil spirits. They were believed to connect both the physical and spiritual worlds after death.
The team was shocked to find the six-inch jade dragon, which was slightly longer than the one unearthed 93 miles away in Liaoning province.
They also identified themselves several stone structures and semi-subterranean houses in the cemetery, which were probably graves for high-ranking people.
And the altars were used to perform religious ceremonies.
The Hongshan culture historically practiced a variety of religious ceremonies, including burying their dead on ceremonial platforms next to carved jade, and had a unique sacrificial system that used dragon artifacts to worship their ancestors.
Jia Xiaobing, a researcher at the Chinese Institute of Archaeology, confirmed that the tomb’s layout is similar to that found in Niuheliang, a village about 136 kilometers away.
The jade dragon (pictured), measuring more than six inches in length, is the largest ever excavated
Researchers hope the discovery will reveal how ancient civilizations in China communicated and shared artistic styles.
It was identified by the southern circle, northern altar, and northern tomb layout, and the jade artifacts also revealed a crossover in stylistic similarities used in other cultures, representing a connection for the first time.
Dang Yu, research librarian at the Inner Mongolia Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, said the jade relics also included ceremonial tools and ornaments, axes and headgear.
One headgear resembled that of the Lingjiatan culture from 5,300 to 5,800 years ago in present-day Anhui province, further proving that the two cultures had cultivated long-distance cultural trade.
“Such consistency in a larger area proves that there was a shared belief system among the Hongshan ancestors,” Xiaobing told China daily.
Hongshan culture sites have been found dating back to the period between 4700 BC and 2900 BC, stretching from Inner Mongolia to Liaoning in the northern region of the country.
The researchers are conducting additional tests and studies to learn more about the relics and when the cemetery was created.