Archaeologists Discover Heart-Breaking Remains of Mum Who Died Protecting Her Baby Boy from an Earthquake

Archaeologist Discover Skeletal Remains of Mother/Child – China

Archaeologists have found the skeletal remains of a mother who had died protecting her child Anthropologist who had been researching the Lajia archaeological site in Minhe County in North West China’s Qinghai Province, have discovered the mother and her son while excavating a huge scale burial caused by an overwhelming earthquake around 4,000 years back.

It is said that the well-preserved bones, which seems to belong to people from China’s Qujia culture that probably existed between 2,200 – 1,600 BC portrayed the larger bones of a mother kneeling while shielding the smaller child whom the archaeologist presume it to be that of a boy.

Discovered first in the 1920, the Qijia culture was said to be an early Bronze Age culture which lived around the upper Yellow River region spreading across the northern and the north-western provinces of China including the areas of Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai as well as the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.The exploration of the culture has been of great importance in the discovery of the original as well as the early development of Chinese civilisation.

Whole Settlement Wiped out By Calamity

Park Pai, a researcher, has informed that the excavation can tell a lot about people from that time but on a personal level, this is a story which seems to be of a tragic death, thousands of years back. Experts are of the belief that the site was affected by an earthquake and flooding of the Yellow river, though they are still to comprehend the actual cause of the tragedy.

Nonetheless, the calamity is believed to have wiped out the whole settlement. In comparison with Pompeii, the site known as Lajia is over 2,000 years older than the ancient Roman city. Images of the findings portray the mother looking up above as she kneels on the floor having her arms around her young child.

They came across another pair of skeletons locked in an embrace at the same site; together with a number of other remains also found huddled together. The postures of the bodies tell how they died, some who had been trapped in buildings, while others sheltering with family members.

Skeletons on Display at Lajia Ruins Museum

This unbelievably well persevered site portrays a heart-breaking picture of people making attempts to protect their families in a petrifying earthquake. At almost 40,000 square feet, the Lajia site is one of the largest disaster excavation sites in China which was first discovered in the early 2000s.

The excavation site is said to be of a particular historical importance since it contains evidences to an early Bronze Age civilisation which had lived in the upper Yellow River region. Earlier this month, the team of archaeologists had presented their discoveries at an academic conference in Gansu province. The skeletons are now kept on display at the Lajia Ruins Museum.