Qiu Licheng, vice director of the provincial archeology research center, shows a piece of unearthed pottery, saying this type had never before been excavated in Guangdong.

The discovery of neolithic relics in Guangdong's Shenzhen municipality could push the area's history of civilization back to 7,000 years.

Archeologists are more than eager to find out after a large number of Neolithic relics were excavated at Xiantou Hill in Longgang District at the weekend.

Dozens of well-preserved stone and pottery tools were brought to light in the excavation, along with more than 100 pottery pieces, the Shenzhen Evening News reported Sunday.

Initial studies have found the earthenware and stoneware were between 6,000 and 7,000 years old, but further research is required to determine the exact dating.

The finding was one of the most significant archeological discoveries in the Pearl River Delta region, the paper said. Although the site had already been excavated three times -- in 1985, 1989 and 1997 -- the findings were never so exciting.

"We seldom found a zun (a special type of ancient wine vessel) from the Neolithic Age," said Qiu Licheng, vice director of the provincial archeology research center.

"Look at the patterns on the vessel. They're so amazingly complicated and exquisite," said Qiu, referring to a pottery zun with silkworm chrysalis-like patterns and 10 centimeters in diameter.

"It doesn't look like a piece of tableware, but rather like something used at a sacrificial ceremony. From this, we could probably depict some cultural elements."

Dr. Li Hairong, an expert at the Shenzhen Museum, said the relics had clearly shown three phases in the history of pottery making.

"This makes the excavation much more significant than the previous three," he said.

Another significant finding was that the site could be 7,000 years old, the earliest trace of civilization yet found in the Pearl River Delta region.

"A scholar with the City University of Hong Kong has called us, hoping to help us with thermoluminescence dating and we'll also send samples to Beijing for carbon-14 dating," said Li's colleague Ye Yang. Calculating the age with both methods would make the dating more accurate, the report said.

The archeologists said they would consider urging the government to list the site as one of the city's protected cultural relics.

Editor: Catherine