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in 1988, pang jinmu, a villager from wangcun village in yaodu town, dongzhi county, anhui province, accidentally discovered fragments of bone while building a sheep pen at the foot of meiyuan mountain. having experience with root carving and some knowledge of cultural relics, he promptly reported his findings to the local cultural heritage authorities. following this, batches of archaeologists and paleontologists arrived at the site. in 2006, the site was named the "hualong cave" site. after excavations in 2006, 2014, and 2015, over 30 ancient human fossils, more than 100 tools, and fossils of over 40 different animal species were unearthed from hualong cave, including over 12,000 pieces of various fossils. in 2019, the site was designated as a key national cultural heritage conservation unit. in 2020, it was selected as one of the "top ten archaeological discoveries in anhui for 2018-2019." in december 2023, the institute of vertebrate paleontology and paleoanthropology of the chinese academy of sciences applied to the national cultural heritage administration for a fourth formal excavation of the hualong cave site from february to november 2024, covering an area of 40 square meters, which was approved. starting from april 10, archaeologists began field excavations and have already discovered a large number of teeth and bone fossils of animals such as deer, cattle, wild boars, and giant pandas, as well as stone tools used by ancient humans. the hualong cave is also of great significance for exploring the evolutionary history of chinese civilization. we await with anticipation what new discoveries the fourth archaeological excavation will bring.
source: anhuinews.com
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