Ancient marble bracelets unearthed in Central China

ZHENGZHOU - Archaeologists have found six ancient white marble bracelets at a site in Central China's Henan province, local authorities said Tuesday.

Besides the bracelets, some other jade and stone materials which had been polished, cut or carved, have also been discovered at the Huangshan Site, which is located in Nanyang. The site was built by a Neolithic culture called Yangshao that originated on the middle reaches of the Yellow River and is considered a main precursor of Chinese civilization.

All of the findings date back to between 5,000 to 7,000 years ago.

Experts said this area could have been a processing factory of jade and stone ware.

"The findings showed that people living in this region might have mastered the skills of making, cutting, and polishing jade and stone," said Ma Juncai, a researcher at the provincial institute of cultural heritage and archaeology.

"This information is crucial for the study of the exploitation and making of jade and stone ware in ancient times," Ma said.