The Sichuan Provincial Cultural Relics and Archaeology Research Institute announced on Dec. 18, 2016 that it had discovered a great number of remains and relics from between the late Neolithic Age and the Shang and Zhou dynasties (1600 BC-256 BC). The Neolithic Age remains were the earliest of the period found in southwestern Sichuan. During the excavation, more than 20 Pre-Qin Period (Pre-221 BC) human settlements were also unearthed along the Anning River Valley, the second-largest number of such sites ever found in the province after those on the Chengdu Plain. Around 50 square pits dating back to this period might be the remains of semi-crypt ancient residences. Numbers of Pre-Qin graveyards covering more than 2,000 square meters were discovered. The findings were the most important archaeological discovery in southwestern Sichuan. [Photo/Western China Metropolis Daily]