China unveils its top 10 archaeological finds of 2022

The National Cultural Heritage Administration announced its "Top 10 New Archaeological Discoveries of 2022" on March 28. The annual list, first launched in 1990, has been generally hailed as one of the most important honors bestowed on archaeological projects in China.

The top 10 projects of 2022 were chosen from 22 finalists through ballots from the 21-people judge panel, which are composed of the country's top-tier scholars. They were outstanding examples of nearly 1,700 archaeological projects that were conducted nationwide last year.

Here are the new laureates:

1. Xuetangliangzi site, Shiyan, Hubei province, from about 1 million years ago

The excavated archaic human skull from 1 million years ago is the best preserved fossil of its kind ever discovered in the hinterlands of the Eurasian continent and has provided key clues in the studies of human evolution.

Related: List highlights nation's top archaeological finds (2021)