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)