"Since Niuheliang is so large, many people believe it played a vital role in tracing the origins of Chinese civilization. Sacrifice was considered so important by ancient people that they spared no effort in erecting buildings related to the practice, but to fully understand Hongshan society, we also need to understand the scale of contemporaneous settlements, which we have not yet been able to find," he says.

"Although Ma'anqiaoshan belongs to the early period of Hongshan Culture, and is not contemporaneous with Niuheliang, it's still a valuable discovery as we haven't excavated many Hongshan settlements so far, and so it helps us answer some pertinent questions," he adds.

Fan also mentions that the sacrificial customs reflected at Ma'anqiaoshan show similarities with those at Niuheliang, but are less complex. "The discoveries at Ma'anqiaoshan are the first sacrificial remains we have found from the early Hongshan Culture period. By comparing them with the finds at Niuheliang, we can better understand the evolution of sacrificial rituals and systems, and their increasing sophistication," says Fan.

"They also prove that Hongshan society underwent complicated changes, possibly leading to the origin and formation of pluralistic, integrated Chinese civilization."