A 4,800-year-old piece of colored pottery bearing designs of plowing was recently unearthed at Lintao County in northwest China's Gansu Province.

Chinese archaeologists believe the pottery, which is 30-cm-tall and 34-cm in width, belongs to the Majiayao culture, a historical period in about 3300 BC to 2050 BC.

The picture on the pottery vividly portrays a scene of plowing in simple black lines. Beside the farmland is a river, painted in several zigzag lines.

Wang Zhi'an, president of the Gansu Provincial Majiayao Culture Society, said the design reflects the production and life of people in that period. It is rare in China to discover a picture depicting men plowing in fields.

Discovery of the cultivation design suggests that agricultural civilization was present in China as long as 4,800 years ago.

The design also proved that figure painting in the country can be traced back to 4,800 years ago.

(Xinhua News Agency August 8, 2004)