6,300-year-old Axe-like Scepter Found In East China

NANJING, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Mar, 2024) Archaeologists have discovered a large stone "yue," an axe-like ceremonial artifact, in a 6,300-year-old tomb in east China's Jiangsu Province.

The artifact, believed to be the largest well-preserved prehistoric stone yue ever found in China, was recently unearthed from the Sanxingcun relic site in the city of Changzhou.

Yue is believed to have originated as a weapon but was later more commonly used in rituals as a ceremonial axe in the Bronze Age.

Measuring about 36 cm in width, the stone weapon features a large hole in its center and exhibits no traces of use.

It was placed beside the head of the male owner of a tomb noticeably larger than others in the area.

"It suggests that over 6,000 years ago, some yue were no longer used as a tool and instead became a symbol of personal status or power," said Li Moran, a researcher with the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese academy of Social Sciences, who led the site's excavation.

The tomb owner was also interred with a stone cauldron, a stone knife and more than 20 lower jawbones of domestic pigs, while another stone yue was placed beside his waist.