Thursday, August 10, 2006

China's earliest handicraft workshop discovered in central China province
Chinese archaeologists may have found one of the world's oldest handicraft workshops, dating back more than 3,600 years, in central China's Henan Province.

Covering about 1,000 square meters, the workshop used turquoise to make elaborate and ornate works of art. The workshop was found in the village of Erlitou of Yanshi City and is part of the ruins of the imperial city belonging to the Xia dynasty (2100 B.C.-1600 B.C.), China's earliest.

The imperial city was discovered two years ago.