Recently, the National Cultural Heritage Administration held an important progress meeting of the "Archaeological China" major project, and reported the archaeological achievements of the Ancient Village Site in Jinning, Yunnan Province. As soon as the news came out, the spectacular snail shells piled up into mountains at the ruins sparked heated discussions among netizens, snail shells related comments became a trending topic.

The spectacular snail shells piled up into mountains at the ruins. Photo/Zhao Pufan

Besides snails, what else did the ancients by the Dianchi Lake eat during the Shang and Zhou dynasties? What were they wearing? Through a group of small objects unearthed from the ruins of the Ancient Village Site, let's see the "exquisite" life of the ancient Yunnan people!

Bronze fishhooks and fish bones unearthed at the Gucheng Village Site. Photo/Zhao Pufan

Many bronze fishhooks were unearthed at the Gucheng Village Site. In addition, archaeologists also found some fish bones there. Since the ruins of Gucheng Village are located on the southeast bank of Dianchi Lake, the ancients probably caught fish in Dianchi Lake to eat.

Archaeologists found fruits' stones in the carbonized seeds. Photo/Zhao Pufan

In the carbonized seeds obtained by flotation at the Gucheng Village Site, archaeologists found hawthorn, olive, peach, plum and other fruit stones, which means the collection of wild fruits was very frequent at that time.

Several pieces of pottery spinning wheels were found in the ruins of Gucheng Village. Photo/Zhao

Besides eating, several pieces of pottery spinning wheels were found in the ruins of Gucheng Village. They are slightly round pancakes with a hole in the center, which can be inserted into wooden handles or bone handles to twist the thread, and the wound thread is removed from the spinning wheel, which is the raw material for weaving.

The unearthed bronze wares are mainly small tools. Photo/Zhao Pufan

The unearthed bronze wares are mainly small tools such as knives, awls, and chisels, but there are also exquisitely crafted copper bracelets.

The unearthed jade wares include jade rings, jade jues, and jade bracelets. Photo/Zhao Pufan

The unearthed jade wares include jade rings, Jade jues, and jade bracelets. Although some of them are incomplete, we can still see their simplicity and gorgeousness.

A batch of amber beads was also unearthed from the ruins of Gucheng Village Site. Photo/Zhao Pufan

A batch of amber beads was also unearthed from the ruins of Gucheng Village Site. After thousands of years, they are still crystal clear and dazzling. The most amazing thing is that they are only about one millimeter in diameter, but they are all perforated. Maybe the production process can be called the ancient "black technology".

The Gucheng Village Site is the first complete Shang and Zhou Dynasties ring trench settlement discovered in the core area of Dian culture, and it is an important clue to explore the origin of Dian culture. At present, the archaeological work is still continuing. It is believed that with the advancement of field excavations and the systematic arrangement of unearthed cultural relics, the clothing, food, housing and transportation of the ancients in the Dianchi Lake area during the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, as well as settlement patterns and business models will become more and more clear.