Chinese archaeologists have unearthed a contract written in Mongolian and signed by a man whose poverty forced him into voluntary servitude.
The contract was discovered in the Dunhuang Grottos in northwest China's Gansu Province.
Only seven lines of words written in ink are still legible. As well as the poor man, the contract was signed by his buyer, a noble man, and a witness, an official named Dalu Huachi. All three were Mongolian.
As the contract bears the signature of both the seller and the buyer, the archaeologists surmise that it was a private one.
Archaeologists believe the contract was signed when Mongolia was an empire, from approximately 1227 to 1246. The discovery gives important clues about the social, economic and political development of Mongolia during that period.
(Xinhua News Agency September 1, 2002)
