Copper minning and smelting sites
over 2,000 years ago discovered in Yunnan
Xinhua
According to Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, archaeologists have discovered the earliest, the largest and the best-preserved historical copper mining and smelting sites in Jinping Miao, Yao and Dai Autonomous County of Yunnan province. These sites were used in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods(770 B.C.221 B.C.) over 2,000 years ago. The discovery is of great significance for the study of copper mining, smelting and casting techniques, as well as Southwest China bronze culture during the Bronze Age.
Of these sites, the Longbohe site is located at the intersection of the Longbo River and the Honghe River in Kafang Village in Jinping County. In 2004, the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology was surveying the Xinjie-Hekou highway, when they made the discovery.
In early 2019, approved by the State Administration of Cultural Relics, Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the School of History and Culture, Sichuan University jointly formed an archaeological team. After nearly two months of exploration and excavation since October 2019, the archaeologists discovered 32 ruins, including one workshop, three ash pits and 28 smelting furnaces.
