Four ceramic balls unearthed in northeast China are believed to
be weapons of ancient hunters some 3,000 years ago.
Chinese archeologists discovered four such balls, 2-4
centimeters in diameter, in Guanghe County, Gansu
Province, and before the finding people only knew of the
ceramic balls from historical documents.
The balls are red, yellow and black. Some are solid with slick
surfaces, some are hollow with fictile grains inside.
"These ceramic balls, in their shapes, sizes and weights, are
very suitable for people to hurl by hand or with a rope," said Wang
Donghai, deputy head of the provincial institute of colored pottery
in Gansu.
"They must be efficient in hunting fast running animals," he
said, adding that the hollow ceramic balls would make sounds during
the movement.
The four balls provide evidence about the life of ancient people
recorded in historical documents. They are of great value also for
studies on ceramic culture, the history of human development and
the history of Chinese civilization, said Wang.
Pottery in China has a history of more than 10,000 years, and
pottery ware has been serving as human's daily necessity for
thousands of years, he said.
(Xinhua News Agency September 11, 2004)
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