On Tuesday, the National Cultural Heritage Administration released a list of the top 10 archaeological discoveries of 2020. The Jingtoushan ruins in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, were included on the list. Archaeologists have described the 8,000-year-old shell mound as the earliest and most deeply buried site of its kind along China’s coastal areas.

Also listed was the Shizhuang site in Henan Province, central China, which consists of the remains of 28 granaries dating back about 4,000 years. The site is believed to have housed some of the country’s earliest centralized grain storage facilities.

The list also includes the Zhaoguodong site in Guizhou and the Sangmda Lungga tomb site in the Tibet Autonomous Region, among others.

The Shaolingyuan tombs site in Xi’an, capital city of northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

Human-shaped gold foil found at the Reshui graveyard site in Dulan County, northwest China’s Qinghai Province.

The notable findings were selected from a shortlist of 20 archaeological discoveries, covering major academic fields including the origin of modern humanity and civilization, the study of the Xia culture, the formation and development of a unified and multi-ethnic country, and the archaeology of the Silk Road, said Song Xinchao, Deputy Head of the Administration.

The findings were presented to the public both online and offline at the press conference where the archaeological discoveries were announced.

Three sites in Henan Province were listed among the top 10, the highest among all provinces across the country. The three sites are: the Shuanghuaishu site, an ancient capital city dating back around 5,300 years, the Shizhuang site, where China’s hitherto earliest granaries were found, and the Xuyang cemetery belonging to ancient Rong migrants.

Henan’s feat demonstrates the core status of central plains culture during the ancient Chinese civilization. So far, a total of 49 discoveries in the province have been listed among the top 10 nationwide, which vary from those dating back to the Paleolithic age, sites that are tens of thousands of years old, to those from the Song Dynasty (960-1279).

Bells from Xuyang cemetery in Luoyang City, central China’s Henan Province.

A mask unearthed from the Sangsdar Lungmgo graveyard site in Ngari Prefecture, southwest China’s Tibet Autonomous Region.