back to prehistoric savage

The two of them buried the thing 10,000 years ago, under the petroglyph of the three mammoths, where the treasure is hidden.

The two men were buried very shallowly, but ten thousand years would be enough time for all traces to sink into the deep strata. One shovel is not enough, let's start with a hundred shovels.

"Forty! Forty! Forty..."

Zhang Tian dug hard at the rhythm of smashing the wall, and Lin Yu also picked up the Luoyang shovel and joined in.

Zhao Jun and other researchers looked at each other, thinking to themselves that Zhang Tian, ​​a layman, could forget it. Dr. Lin came from a major, so why did he follow him and engage in illegal operations?

Thinking that there was an academician grandfather standing behind Lin Yu, it was hard to say anything. Looking at the two people's determination, they couldn't help but feel expectant, so they gathered around and craned their necks in anticipation.

When the first clay fragment was unearthed, the cave burst into excited cheers.

Zhao Jun immediately stopped.

Digging for treasure has never been the goal of archaeologists. Having such a fragment of clay is enough to prove the value of this site. If we continue digging so recklessly, we will lose more than we gain if we cause irreversible damage to important cultural relics.

Zhao Jun re-wrote the investigation report and submitted an excavation application to the institute.

……

The frontline of archeology rarely makes major discoveries, and most of the time there are no discoveries at all. There is no way to tell novel stories or make up sensational headlines. There are only frequent business trips, meager salaries and a lot of work.

Archeology is a fringe subject even in the liberal arts, which is jokingly called the service industry. But when it comes to Paleolithic archeology, even colleagues cast a slightly sympathetic look.

At present, domestic Paleolithic archeology still faces many development problems, including the awkward positioning and attribution of disciplines caused by the long-term artificial separation of natural sciences and social sciences; the professional team is too small and unevenly distributed; the lack of teachers; The level of development is uneven. Only a few are close to the international academic frontier, and most are still at the stage of material compilation and description...

Take Zhao Jun for example. In the prefecture-level city where he is located, he is the only researcher of the Paleolithic Age in the entire Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology. He has been working on the front line for more than ten years and has participated in many excavation projects of the Neolithic Age. None of the projects were applied for.

He could understand that the institute was poor and money had to be spent wisely.

If we compare various periods of human history to a knife, the Paleolithic Age is not even the back of the knife. At most, it is the handle, which is still crudely made of stone.

Zhao Jun never dreamed that his broken handle would one day turn into a blade.

To this day, he still remembers the deafening exclamations of the crowd when the first batch of intact pottery was unearthed.

Although the color has dimmed and the lines have become blurred, the Tai Chi pattern painted on the bottom of the pottery seems to have its own holy light, shining so brightly that it almost blinds everyone!

Tai Chi diagram from 10,000 years ago!

That night, professors from the province came; three days later, big names in Paleolithic research from all over the country arrived; a week later, relevant news was published, causing another sensation after the Tea Town site; a month later, even Europe and the United States Scholars from , Japan and South Korea also heard about it.

The originally unnoticed cave became crowded almost overnight. Reporters from all walks of life rushed to the scene even more frequently than professionals like them. A group of fortune tellers rushed to recognize their ancestors. Local officials even publicly claimed that " The discovery of this site proves that Northeast China is not necessarily the center of the universe, but it is probably the origin of Chinese culture!"

The rock art site has also been officially renamed as the Taiji Cave site, and it also has a more famous name in the public: Fuxi Cave.

Coincidentally, not long after the Tai Chi patterns at the Tai Chi Cave site came out, symbols suspected to be hexagrams were also unearthed from newly discovered sites in various places. These sites range from the Nen River Basin in the north to the Hai River Basin in the south, from the North China Plain in the west to the coast of the Yellow Sea in the east, covering The scope was so large that everyone was stunned.

This series of unique symbols and similar pottery making techniques prove that although the ancestors living in this area were scattered in various places, they also interacted with each other and influenced each other. They can be classified into the same cultural circle. According to convention, the earliest people The discovered tea town ruins were named Tea Town Culture.

More questions followed.

"Who drew the first Tai Chi diagram? Is it really the legendary Fu Xi?"

“Where did the pottery technology that transcended its time come from?”

"The Tai Chi Cave in the Northeast, the tea town ruins in North China, and the 'Atlantis of the East' buried at the bottom of the Yellow Sea. Where is the birthplace?"

"The natural environment more than 10,000 years ago was very harsh. How could the primitive ancestors have such strong mobility?"

Lin Yu's thesis has been written, and he is just waiting for things to develop.

She published three papers in a row, proposing the "migration theory" for the first time. She wrote down what actually happened under the banner of "conjecture", and used the known results to find relevant archaeological facts to support it.

Zhang Tian couldn't help but complain after reading it: "Are you writing a thesis or a memoir?"

The discovery of the Tai Chi Diagram caused an uproar throughout East and Southeast Asia. Later, pottery with suspected hexagrams was also unearthed in South Korea. The Korean Internet was in an uproar, with comments such as "Fuxi is from Korea" and "Tai Chi originated in Korea". It became so popular that it attracted unanimous ridicule from Chinese and Japanese netizens.

Lin Yu flew to South Korea as soon as possible. When she learned the news, she and Zhang Tian tacitly thought of a possibility. After seeing the real thing at the scene, their guesses were proved to be correct.

"It seems Jiang He and the others succeeded."

Lin Yu told Zhang Tian happily.

Jiang He led the fleet across the ocean and successfully arrived at the Korean Peninsula, where he took root and established his own tribe. Jiang He's learning ability is very good, and he also "furthered his studies" in Taoyuan. Most of the hexagrams unearthed there are the knowledge he brought with him.

Scholars from the two countries soon discovered that the pottery unearthed from the Korean ruins and the tea town ruins were in the same line, but both sides disagreed on the inheritance relationship.

Lin Yu published another paper to make the facts public.

In Zhang Tian's opinion, it was a fact, but in the eyes of colleagues, Lin Yu was just making reasonable speculations about existing archaeological discoveries. If she could guess, so could others.

Korean scholars publicly stated in interviews that the ancestors of the Korean Peninsula migrated to the northeastern region of China about 10,000 years ago and passed on Korean culture.

However, this argument did not receive widespread support from the academic community and only attracted a new round of ridicule and condemnation from netizens. After all, the hexagrams unearthed from Korean sites are incomplete, and even the Taichi diagrams are somewhat deformed, completely different from the pottery from the Taichidong site.

The truth becomes clearer and louder as the debate becomes clearer, and the popularity becomes louder and louder. Attention gradually spreads from domestic to international.

Archeology has ushered in an unprecedented feast. The discovery of tea town culture has so far unearthed many amazing things that subvert cognition. Regardless of those tools that seem to have traveled through the ages, there are just a large number of exquisite pottery and a huge number of bricks and tiles. , the ruins of a large dragon kiln, the remains of crop seeds, the remains of hemp products, etc., are enough to make everyone crazy.

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to leave a mark in history must not be missed. Scholars from all over the world are rushing to the mainland of China. From academicians to front-line researchers, almost everyone is publishing papers!

Archeology is probably the industry that requires the most patience and is the slowest to produce results. Larger projects often take decades and several generations of youth to harvest results.

The Tea Town site was excavated in 2022, and by the time Zhang Tian and Lin Yu got married in 2025, less than one-tenth of the area was excavated in three years, but the first phase of excavation has entered the final stage.

After getting married, Lin Yu didn't even spend his honeymoon, so he devoted himself to the fields again.

As soon as we got married, we were in a different place, and there was no one left.

Every time they meet, Zhang Tian always complains: "Nuwa can't just focus on her career, she must also put some thought into creating people!"

Lin Yu always answered with a smile: "Nu Wa made a human being out of mud, which shows that Nu Wa doesn't care much about this matter, doesn't it?"

Zhang Tian had no choice but to accommodate her. Fortunately, the tea town ruins were not far from Yanbei, so it was quite convenient to go back and forth.

On weekends and holidays, Zhang Tian stayed at the Tea Town ruins as a volunteer, helping Lin Yu with some chores.

Lin Weixin became more and more satisfied with his grandson-in-law. There were not many people who took archeology as a hobby, and even fewer people like him who were hardworking and had a certain knowledge base. It was a pity not to study archeology.

At the same time, the excavation of the Yellow Sea ruins is also in full swing.

Compared with terrestrial archaeology, underwater archeology is much more difficult.

Domestic underwater archeology is still mainly focused on salvaging sunken ships. The most famous case is the Song Dynasty sunken ship Nanhai No. 21 that was salvaged in the early st century. This is the first time that undersea ruins have been excavated. It should have been considered in the long term, but because of the existence of black stones, The superiors believed that the site buried under the sea was unusual, so they issued an order to excavate it first. Funds and manpower were not a problem.

The Yellow Sea site is known as the "Atlantis of the East". It attracted widespread attention when it was first excavated. But one day later, suddenly there was no news about any progress.

Through her grandfather's relationship, Lin Yu got some inside information and knew that something terrible had been dug up. After the special department moved in to take over, the information was completely blocked.

As for what was dug out, Zhang Tian was no stranger to it. It was the sun-shooting bow he used to shoot down meteorites.

Zhang Tian knew nothing about the structure and principles of the Sun-shooting Divine Bow, but one thing he knew very well was that the bow was just shaped like a bow and arrow. It was essentially some kind of powerful launching device. The Sun-shooting Divine Arrow was like Bullets are far more powerful than bullets, even more powerful than nuclear bombs!

No matter what it is, the technical level displayed by that bow is extremely advanced, and it is normal to block the news.

Speaking of this, Lin Yu suddenly remembered something and asked, "I remember you said that the bow belongs to its owner?"

"Yes, it will be automatically bound when redeeming."

"Can you still use it now?"

"Who knows? Even if it can be used, there is no chance. The bow has been turned over to the treasury, and there is nowhere to exchange the arrows."

After Lin Yu woke up, the faith value in front of Zhang Tian disappeared, and he could no longer use any magic.

At that moment, as if the game had reached the final level, or as if the novel had read the last page, he knew that his adventure was over. Returning to modern times meant returning to ordinary life.

……

It will be in 2030 that the Tea Town ruins once again sparked heated discussions across the Internet and gained worldwide attention.

This year, Zhang Tian was 35 years old, and the original-themed game he released was a great success; this year, Lin Yu was 32 years old, and was successfully promoted to associate professor at the School of Archeology and Museology of Peking University; this year, Zhang Tian and Lin Yu’s daughter was already three years old It’s big enough to make soy sauce...    Everything starts with a piece of tortoise shell.

In fact, as early as three years ago, they dug up a batch of broken tortoise shells with unknown symbols engraved on them.

Due to the small number of samples and the severe damage to the tortoise shell, most scholars believe that it was just an object used by primitive ancestors to worship the gods. The special symbols engraved on it to communicate with the gods have no real meaning.

Only Lin Yu insisted that the tortoise shell was engraved with words, and was criticized verbally and written by countless colleagues. It cannot be ruled out that some people were jealous of Lin Yu's achievements and her extremely high reputation that did not match her academic status, and deliberately made things difficult for her.

Some people take the Jiahu site as an example. Some special symbols were also unearthed at the Jiahu site. At that time, many people claimed that they were writings. But now, decades later, no more evidence has been found.

There is no evidence that the Jiahu site is 9000 years old. The Chazhen site is older than the Jiahu site. How could writing appear?

Lin Yu argued with reason: "The current excavation results have proven that the development level of the tea town site is much higher than our stereotyped understanding of that era. I think we should not apply past experience."

However, her opinion was not taken seriously.

Until this batch of complete tortoise shells were unearthed, there were dozens of symbols on each tortoise shell, and they were very clear. After horizontal comparison, linguists at home and abroad unanimously concluded that these symbols have a unified format and the function of conveying specific meanings. , is undoubtedly a text!

All the previous questioning voices disappeared, so Lin Yu took the advantage and took on the task of cleaning the tortoise shells and deciphering the text.

What may be a heavy task in the eyes of others is a piece of cake in her eyes.

The top linguists at home and abroad gathered together, but before they could help, Lin Yu had published three papers in a row, breaking down the word formation method in detail and interpreting the basic meanings of all words.

Not only the archeology community, but also the linguistics community was in an uproar. A group of linguists looked over her paper over and over, trying to pick out some bones from the eggs to save themselves.

However, there was not a single mistake! She actually spent less than a week on her own to complete a lifetime of research work for others!

All the experts and scholars were crestfallen and lamented that this woman was so talented that no one else could.

Lin Yu only smiled slightly, thinking that standing in front of you now is the mother of Chinese culture and the mother of original writing - Lin Cangjie Yu! These words were created by me, can I still recognize them?

Not only could she recognize it, but she could also read it. She and Zhang Tian often conspired loudly in the language that belonged to them in front of relatives and friends, which was extremely interesting.

Speaking of which, Zhang Tiancai was the most loyal reader. Lin Yu took photos and sent them to him as soon as he dug out these tortoise shells.

Before leaving Taoyuan, Zhang Tian told Xiao that all major events that happened in the tribe in the future would be recorded on the tortoise shell.

He was very pleased that Xiao had fulfilled his promise and left behind these precious words so that future generations could understand the world 10,000 years ago and the rise and fall of Taoyuan.

Some of the tortoise shells recorded the stories told by Zhang Tian. Among them, the protagonist of Hou Yi shooting the sun was changed to the Son of the Sky, a great being named Tian who was good at archery; the protagonist of Nuwa patching up the sky was changed to a wizard. , that is, a descendant of Nuwa named Lin who possesses divine power.

The content of the story has not changed.

These two stories should have been carved by an owl. He deliberately chose the largest and thickest tortoise shell, and each stroke was deeply carved. Zhang Tian was able to read the complex emotions of the sculptor from the powerful strokes. This emotion It has transcended the text itself, but it has hit Zhang Tian's heart firmly, and the cold scratches on his fingertips seem to have gradually become warmer.

Another part of the tortoise shell records the major events after the return of Zhang and Lin. It should be carved by the sky priests of the past dynasties.

After the two resolved the meteorite crisis, the remaining descendants of Nuwa used the power of the five-color stones to rebuild their homes for the seaside people. Some of them returned to their homeland, while others stayed in Taoyuan.

The first major event was the severance of Nuwa's bloodline. The five-color stone lost its essential function and became a symbol of status.

Later, as the population of Taoyuan increased rapidly and the territory continued to expand, the tribe's demand for resources increased day by day, leading to the accumulation of internal and external conflicts.

In fact, expansion is not a problem. The most terrible thing is that since Zhang and Lin returned, Taoyuan's productivity and technical level have hardly improved at all.

This has been confirmed by the remains of cultural strata of different eras. This is also what puzzles many archaeologists. This settlement actually reached its peak when it debuted, and then stayed in the same place for thousands of years. It is really inconsistent with common sense.

It is recorded on the tortoise shell that Xiao once tried to refine bronze ware according to Zhang Tian's farewell instructions, but all ended in failure. Probably because life had to go on and I lacked the urgency to seek change, I didn’t try again after that.

Later, rising sea levels submerged the homes of the Haibian people. In order to compete for territory, fierce conflicts broke out between the Haibian people and the Hedong people. Thousands of years of friendship in North China was broken, and the war once spread to Taoyuan.

After an unfavorable year and droughts one after another, the sky priests and wizards prayed for rain many times to no avail. They were helpless. The sky seemed to no longer respond to their requests, and the prestige of the sky priests was shaken.

More and more people fled and moved to more livable places. Taoyuan began to fall apart and eventually fell...

Zhang Tian made up the rest of the story half-reading and half-guessing.

No political power in this world can last forever. You must know that the founding of New China has only been 80 years, and the longest feudal dynasty has been in power for less than 800 years. It is very good that Taoyuan can exist for more than 2000 years.

After looking at the last piece of tortoise shell, Zhang Tian was filled with emotions.

……

"Dad! Look, mom is on TV!"

Zhang Silin pointed at the TV and shouted.

On TV, Lin Yu was being interviewed by the host to educate the public about the "Chinese Culture Origin Discovery Project".

Lin Yu is now a star figure in the archaeological community. She is well-known and popular with the public. In addition, she has a good image, good temperament and outstanding personal abilities. There is no one more suitable for this kind of science popularization and propaganda program than her.

The Chinese Culture Origin Discovery Project was formally proposed in 2031, and was subsequently included in the national "th Five-Year Plan" key scientific and technological projects. Among the many ancient cultural sites across the country, the Tea Town Site, Taiji Cave Site, and Yellow Sea Site were selected. The six Paleolithic sites included are the central sites focused on excavation and research in the first phase.

The host asked: "What is the difference between the current Chinese Culture Discovery Project and the Chinese Civilization Discovery Project thirty years ago?"

Lin Yu replied with a smile: "Although there is only one word difference between culture and civilization, their meanings are vastly different. In archaeological discoveries, culture refers to a group of sites with common cultural characteristics that belong to the same era and are distributed in a certain area; civilization is It refers to a certain "cultural" social form that has developed to a higher stage."

"To put it simply, our country has millions of years of human history and 10,000 years of cultural history, but only more than 5,000 years of civilization history. The Chinese Civilization Discovery Project thirty years ago explored 5,000 years of civilization. history, and the current Chinese Culture Origin Discovery Project is to systematically trace the foundation, origin, formation and early development of Chinese culture..."

Lin Yu talked eloquently in front of the camera, and Zhang Silin fell asleep listening to it. To her, who was only four years old, these profound contents were no different from a lullaby.

Zhang Tian turned off the TV, picked up his daughter, and said softly: "Go to sleep, girl."

Zhang Silin rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked in a sweet voice, "When will mommy come back?"

"When you fall asleep, I will go and bring mom back. The sooner you go to bed, the sooner mom will be back."

"Then...I want to hear a story."

"it is good."

Zhang Tian put his daughter into the warm quilt and opened the storybook.

It’s funny to think that ten thousand years ago, he opened his mouth to a group of prehistoric tough men, but now when telling stories to his daughter, he has to refer to story books.

He read the script without emotion: "Since Nuwa created mankind, there has been laughter and laughter everywhere on the earth, and people have lived happy lives..."

"Nuwa mended the sky, you've heard of it! Change it!"

Turn the page.

"Legend has it that in ancient times, there were ten suns in the sky..."

"You've heard of Hou Yi shooting the sun! Change it!"

Zhang Tian turned the pages one after another, and every time he started talking about the beginning, Zhang Silin shouted loudly: "You've heard it! Change it!"

After repeating it several times, Zhang Tian couldn't help but ask: "Is there any story in this book that you haven't heard before?"

"No, mom already told me!"

"...don't tell me sooner."

Zhang Silin blinked the big eyes inherited from Lin Yu, and asked seriously: "Dad, you are so old, don't you even have a story?"

"I……"

Zhang Tian choked. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Bai. That girl was also such a ghost when she was a child.

"Do you still remember the starry sky you saw at your grandma's house during the Chinese New Year? There are as many stories about dad as there are stars in the sky, and I can never finish them in a lifetime!"

Zhang Silin immediately became interested and looked at her father eagerly, her little face full of expectation.

Zhang Tian closed the storybook and looked at his daughter's bright eyes. His thoughts seemed to drift back to that cold night in that cramped cave. He seemed to see the beating firelight and a group of men and women who were looking forward to it: enduring the pain and working hard. The smiling grandma, the innocent and shy Xiao who doesn’t understand the relationship between men and women, the Bai who is afraid but loves to listen...

He told it eloquently, telling it to his daughter, his tribe, and himself:

“A long, long time ago, there was such a group of people. They once looked up at the stars, they once carried the sky on their backs, they once traveled across mountains and rivers, they had parting ways in life and death, and they unknowingly became the foundation of today’s China ten thousand years later… "

(End of book) (End of chapter)