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These excavations, which have found at least 20 kiln complexes,

May 1, 2017 by Kimberly Parks

These excavations, which have found at least 20 kiln complexes, reveal that ceramics were traded in the region for far beyond the scope of most shipwrecks. The large kiln complexes that the researchers have found also include those on the banks of the Ammon River in China's Yunnan province, the largest city in China. The researchers believe it could be the ancient trading routes for the ceramic that could be used as currency in ancient times.

"One of the key questions is, is this a trade route or is there a different history of trade?" Niziolek asked.

The team found many sites where ceramics were traded between the 12th and 15th century CE. Some of these were far-flung settlements, in areas where the trade was not well documented, like Yunnan. Other sites were largely inland, including the largest, the Dongshan, which is the largest city in China.

While the researchers were able to explore a far-flung settlement on the Ammon River from the 15th to the 19th century CE, these sites were much smaller than the archaeological area they had found. A few of the sites were small, like the Hanhai, a settlement about 100 meters tall, and the Dainan, a settlement about 200 meters long, but most were smaller, like the Dongshan. The researchers believe that they may have been more active, moving from a settlement to a smaller village or city in the region at the same time.

"These sites are still very small in number, but they definitely are much older than us, so we can't see much more now," said co-author Hui Jingqing, an anthropologist at the University of Hong Kong. The archaeologists also speculate that the small settlements might have been a major trade route, a trade route for the Chinese traders who carried goods from Asia to the Americas.

"We also know from many other sites that ceramic trade was a major trading route in ancient times, so we know that this region is a good candidate for trade routes that are still very old," Niziolek said.

The researchers are working with a team of archaeologists from the University of Kiel in Germany to examine the site and excavate a few of the ceramic vessels found. They found a number of ceramic vessels of the same vintage that they had found in the Ammon River, but this time they found two bronze vessels. The team also found evidence of a large trading route, which they