At the third China Archaeological Congress held in Sanmenxia, Henan Province in October this year, the Tung Wan Tsai North site on Ma Wan Island in Hong Kong was announced as one of China's "100 Major Archaeological Discoveries in the Last 100 Years". Other archaeological discoveries on the list include the Zhoukoudian site in Beijing, the mausoleum of China's first emperor, Qinshihuang, and the Nanhai No.1 shipwreck.

The archaeological excavation at Tung Wan Tsai North was conducted by the Antiquities and Monuments Office and the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences between June and November 1997, in which prehistoric cultural remains from the Middle Neolithic (c. 3000 B.C.), Late Neolithic (c. 2000 B.C.) and Early Bronze Age (c. 1000 B.C.) were found. Nineteen burials from the Neolithic and one burial from the Early Bronze Age were unearthed, of which fifteen of them contained ancient human skeletal remains. Burial items comprising pottery wares with impressed geometric patterns, polished stone rings and slotted rings, fishbone ornaments and shell tools were also unearthed. The experts identified that the human skeletal remains bore general characteristics of the Asian Mongoloid race and shared similar physical characteristics with the late Neolithic skeletal remains in the Pearl River region in Guangdong. The discovery of the Tung Wan Tsai North not only provides valuable information for studying the prehistoric period of Hong Kong, but also helps establish the sequence of prehistoric cultural development in the Lingnan area.

Selected archaeological relics unearthed at Tung Wan Tsai North are now on display at the Hong Kong Heritage Discovery Centre. Members of the public are welcome to visit.

Burial C7 of Late Neolithic contained a female skeleton of age over 40 and burial items including stone slotted rings, fishbone ornaments and pottery cauldrons.

Experts constructed the bust of a female early settler in Tung Wan Tsai North on Ma Wan Island based on the skeleton unearthed from burial C7.

Experts constructed the bust of a male early settler aged between 30 and 40 in Tung Wan Tsai North on Ma Wan Island based on the skeleton unearthed from burial C81.

This coarse pottery cauldron with lozenge pattern was discovered from Burial C7. It was placed to the left of the skull.

Selected burial items from Burial C1044. Among the 20 perhistoric burials discovered during the excavation, C1044 is the only burial dated to the early Bronze Age. From left: pottery jar with two spouts, perforated pottery jar in brown glaze, stone tube ornament, pottery cup in brown glaze.