NANJING, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have uncovered a stone spindle whorl workshop at a prehistoric site in eastern China dating back some 6,000 years.

Archaeologists said they discovered more than 300 stone spindle whorls and a large number of unfinished stone blanks at the Doushan site, the earliest prehistoric city site along the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, located in the city of Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.

The discovery revealed a full production line ranging from local quarrying to finished tools.

Archaeologists, notably, also said that the volume of artifacts suggests these items were not just for local use but likely served as trade goods exchanged with neighboring tribes.

"The huge number of stone spindle whorls far exceeded the daily needs of the settlement," said Zhou Runken, head of the archaeology team and vice president of the Jiangsu provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

The stone spindle whorls were very likely not only production tools used by the local settlers, but most likely also served as popular trade products exchanged with other tribes, Zhou noted.

This discovery not only demonstrates the craftsmanship of ancestors during the Majiabang culture period, but also suggests the possibility of primitive trade existing 6,000 years ago, Zhou said.

Archaeologists also discovered nearly 130 tombs from the Majiabang culture period and 160 tombs from the later Songze culture period. Among the Songze culture period burial sites are several large, high-ranking graves containing over 20 burial objects as well as inner and outer coffins.

In one tomb, archaeologists even found the remains of head and foot boxes in the inner coffin, highlighting social stratification among the settlers.

Situated on the west side of Doushan Village in Xibei Township of Wuxi, the Doushan site covers an area of about 250,000 square meters and mainly contains relics from the Majiabang Culture and the later Songze Culture in the Neolithic Age. To date, an area of roughly 18,000 square meters has been excavated. ■