Man lived on the "Roof of the World" in Tibet 3,000 years ago. This has been proved by a recent discovery of New Stone Age ruins on the northern outskirts of Lhasa, the capital of the autonomous region.

Archaeologists have so far discovered a cave dwelling site and two ash pits, which contained a number of stone and bone implements and a large quantity of pottery fragments.

Among the stone objects excavated were three stone shovels of various designs.

The pottery fragments include some black pottery pieces decorated with flowing rhomboid patterns.

The most valuable ancient artifacts uncovered were a crude Jade axe and a bone needle about 7 cm long and 3 mm in diameter. The jade axe is beautifully shaped and very smooth, though it is slightly damaged,

Archaeologists believe the relics to be about 3,000 years old. They say the excavated relics bear some similarity to those unearthed in the Huanghe (Yellow) River basin, and they are also similar to those excavated in 1977 near Kharuo village in eastern Tibet. The New Stone Age Kharuo ruins include the foundations of five houses, nearly 300 stone and bone artifacts and pottery pieces, and skeletons of birds and animals.

The recent discovery sheds additional light on the development of human history in Tibet, which has a recorded history of only 1,300 years.

(This article appears on page 32, No. 10, 1985)