Chinese Writing 8000 Years Old

Chinese archaeologists studying ancient rock carvings identified more than 2,000 pictorial symbols dating back 8,000 years, on the Damaidi Carvings in Zhongwei of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northwestern China.

Many of these symbols were believed to bear a strong resemblance to the ancient hieroglyphs of Chinese characters (oracle).

"We have found some symbols shaped like both pictures and characters, ...and many can be identified as ancient characters."" Li Xiangshi, a cliff carving expert at the North University of Nationalities in Ningxia , told Xinhua news agency.

The Damaidi carvings in Ningxia , first discovered in the 1980s, cover 15 sq km (5.8 square miles) and feature more than 8,000 individual figures including the sun, moon, stars, gods and scenes of hunting or grazing. links to BBC, Zaobao & Photos Xinhua

Update: More photos were added.