Posted on 07/27/2004 11:11:24 AM PDT by blam
Chinese archaeologists find 'world's oldest earrings'
July 27, 2004
Chinese archaeologists have discovered earrings they believe are the oldest found in the world.
The jade earrings, which date to between 7500 and 8200 years ago, were unearthed at the Xinglongwa culture site in Chifeng city in Inner Mongolia, the Xinhua news agency said yesterday.
The jade rings, called "Jue" in old Chinese, have diameters that measure 2.5 to six centimetres.
Liu Guoxiang, head of an archaeological team under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said it was "magnificent" that the earrings were found in pairs that were almost similar in size and weight.
The most exquisite pair were identical in weight and in their inner and outer diameters, he said.
"It is almost unimaginable that without modern tools, people in ancient times managed to achieve such a feat," Liu was quoted as saying.
The report did not say how many pairs were found.
Because the earrings unearthed have reasonably large diameters, experts speculate the wearers at the time would have pierced bigger holes in their earlobes and must have already known how to treat inflammation, said jade culture expert Tang Chung at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
People in some parts of South-East Asia still wear jade earrings of a similar design, he said.
He said jade ornaments emerged on the Inner Mongolia prairie about 8000 years ago and in the Yangtze River valley 6000 to 7000 years ago.
At some point in the not-too-distant present, I will have been confused by this thread.
LOL!
Just to show how far gone I am, this is the only thread which makes complete sense to me. ;’)
Eye see you.
Many dew.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.