The top 10 archaeological discoveries for 2023, one of the most prestigious honors for China's archaeologists, was released on Friday in Beijing.

They were chosen from 22 finalists through open ballot by 21 of the country's top-tier scholars from archaeological institutes and universities, and are the leading group of the more than 1,600 excavations carried out in the last year.

The new laureates:

1. A series of Paleolithic sites from 100,000 to 10,000 years ago in Yishui county, Shandong province.

2. A series of Neolithic sites dating back 3,000 to 7,500 years in Pingtan county, Fujian province.

3. Mopanshan Site in Langxi county, Anhui province from about 6,000-year-old Majiabang Culture to the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476 BC)

4. The Qujialing Neolithic Site dating back 4,200 to 5,900 years in Jingmen, Hubei province.

5. The Wangzhuang site in Yongcheng, Henan province of Dawenkou Culture from about 5,000 years ago.

6. The Shuyuanjie Cemetery in Shang Dynasty (c.16th-11th century BC) capital in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

7. The Zhaigou Site dating back to the Shang Dynasty in Qingjian county, Shaanxi province.

8. The Sijiaoping Site in Lixian county, Gansu province from the Qin Dynasty (221-206 BC).

9. The Chencun Ceramic Kiln Site in Huozhou, Shanxi province from Song (960-1279) to Qing (1644-1911) dynasties.

10. The Northwest Continental Slope No 1 and No 2 Shipwrecks Site in the South China Sea from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644)