China announced its "Top Ten Archaeological Discoveries of 2001" in Beijng Friday, unveiling ancient mysteries including traditional herbs in prehistoric times, natural disasters along the Yellow River of 4,000 years ago, the decline of world-renowned Sanxingdui Ruins, and southwest China's lost Yelang Ancient Kingdom.

In ancient legend, a man called Shennong tasted hundreds of herbs and cured thousands of people. In east China's Zhejiang Province, an item pottery was found containing boiled herbs, demonstrating the ancient Chinese in Neolithic times recognized the medical value of natural plants.

In west China's Qinghai Province, human bones in unusual poses and house ruins were discovered as evidence of earthquakes and floods. They tell of a series of natural disasters in the upper part of the Yellow River 4,000 years ago, and echoed the records in Chinese ancient history.

The Sanxingdui Ruins in west China's Sichuan Province, a relics site covering three square kilometers in Chengdu again drew much attention. The site holds more than 2,000 antique items and tons of ivory as well as large amounts of tusks and antlers.

According to experts, Chengdu probably became a center of politics, economy and culture after the decline of Sanxingdui. So it is believed to be a key to solving the riddle of the Sanxingdui's decline.

One of the discoveries included 108 tombs in southwest China's Guizhou Province which showed different burial forms of the ancient Yelang Kingdom, a once-strong kingdom in ancient history, and now a lost civilization in Chinese written texts.

Chinese prehistoric archaeology also achieved fruitful results last year, as a relic site in central China's Shanxi Province fully showed the unique culture of the western part of the ancient China, dating back to 10,000 to 20,000 years ago to Paleolithic times.

The other five discoveries respectively represent the culture of Zhujiang River Delta in Shang Dynasty (1600 to 1046 BC), the way of keeping sutra in Leifeng Tower in east China's Zhejiang Province, pottery making in different historical periods in Henan and Zhejiang, as well as the imperial garden style of the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279 AD).

The annual selection, initiated in 1991, has so far promoted 120 influential archaeological discoveries, recording 10 years of archeology development in China.

(Xinhua News Agency April 12, 2002)