China's top archaeological discoveries of 2025

2. The Peiligang site in Xinzheng, Henan province

Since 2018, archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site for eight consecutive years, yielding significant results. A new batch of tombs, house foundations, pottery kilns, ash pits, many cultural relics, and animal and plant remains have been discovered. Particularly significant is the confirmation of cultural remains from the late Paleolithic period, the earliest period of human prehistory, spanning from about 2.5 million years ago to roughly 10,000 BC, in the lower layers. The discoveries at the site have preliminarily established the chronology of technological evolution during the late Paleolithic period.