Archeologists have unearthed 37 groups of Tibetan relics along the
Qinghai-Tibet Railway.
The relics, including stoneware, tombs and military watchtowers,
provided important clues for the study of ancient Tibetan culture,
said Huo Wei, director of the Tibet Studies Institute of Sichuan
University, who participated in the field work.
A
large-scale sacrificial relics site excavated in Nagqu County was
the first finding of its kind in the
Tibet Autonomous Region and stoneware found in Damxung County
was the largest batch of its kind ever found in Tibet, Huo
said.
These findings would help explain ancient Tibetan existence, said
Zhang Jianlin, a researcher with Shaanxi Research Institute of
Cultural Heritage and Archeology. For example, stoneware for
hunting and farming was discovered for the first time at an
altitude of 4,900 meters, indicating ancient Tibetans might have
lived at a high altitude of around 5,000 meters.
Sacrificial relics also revealed more about Tibetan primitive
religion. According to historical records, Tibetans once believed
in a primitive religion before Buddhism entered Tibet and
worshipped natural spirits like sacred stones, lakes, megaliths and
woods.
Archeologists found a megalith circle with a diameter of 3.7 meters
near a lake in Amdo County, which is believed to have been used for
lake worship.
Archeologists also found in Lhasa a burial area with several big
tombs in the center with over ten hummock graves forming two wings,
which scientists believe may provide more clues to ancient Tibetan
culture in the valley area.
(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2003)