A shell mound ruins excavated in Yuyao county of Ningbo are believed to be the earliest shell mound ruins found in coastal areas in China. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Excavated shell mound ruins believed to be around 8,000 years old

A shell mound ruins excavated in Yuyao county of Ningbo, a coastal city in East China's Zhejiang province, are believed to be the earliest shell mound ruins found in coastal areas in China, archeologists said at a news conference on Saturday.

The Jingtoushan ruins, located in the Sanqishi town in Yuyao, were first found in 2013 and are dated back to 7,800 years to 8,300 years ago, about 1,000 years earlier than the Hemudu Neolithic culture, also found in Yuyao.

The Jingtoushan findings further advanced the history of human origin in Ningbo by over 1,000 years, archeologists said.

Besides, a considerable amount of shell ruins and other animal and plantation remains, eaten by humans of ancient times, were found in the ruins, which clearly restored the rural production and living conditions and the natural environment of ancient ancestors back then, providing important research materials on how human beings got adapted to offshore coastal living and maritime production 8,000 years ago.