China s National Cultural Heritage Administration (NCHA) on Tuesday revealed the country s Top 10 Archaeological Discoveries of 2022, which aims to recognize the most significant archaeological discoveries made in China in the year.
An archeologist cleans the last layer of sediment with a brush and gingerly removes the fossil of a human skull out of the earth with both hands. The fossil, around 1 million years old, will soon be sent to an archeological academy for further research and restoration, where it is sure to contribute to the study of human evolution by providing further insight into the origins of mankind.
In 1989 and 1990, two ancient human skull fossils were unearthed from the Xuetang Liangzi site, dating from 800,000 to 1.1 million years ago. They belonged to the early Homo erectus and were named "Yunxian people" by academic circles. According to Gao Xing, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a relatively well-preserved ancient human skull was discovered in May this year, named "Yunxian Man No. 3 Skull".