Xinhua News Agency, China
October 7, 2000
Chinese archaeologists announced here recently that rhinoceros
did exist during the Neolithic period, in contrast to the traditional
view that the species went extinct as far back as the Paleolithic
period, approximately 10,000 years ago.
The archaeologists drew the conclusion after analyzing the newly
discovered bones of a rhinoceros in a Neolithic site in Zhuji city
in east China's Zhejiang province.
The site, dating back 6,000 years, also contained the remains of
elephants, deer and pigs.
Although the rhinoceros was recorded in ancient Chinese books,
their bones have never been unearthed in a Neolithic site in China,
which prompted Chinese archaeologists to rule out the possibility
of the its existence in the Neolithic period.
Even though rhinoceros remains were discovered in the well-known
Hemudu Neolithic site in 1973, the archaeologists doubted their
own accuracy rather than questioning the traditional view.
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