BEFORE recent archaeological discoveries,Guangfulin was a small, quiet village in west Shanghai's Songjiang District.

With 23 ancient tombs unearthed, the village has become evidence of the city's earliest civilizations.

According to Song Jian, director of the archaeological group, these tombs, dating back more than 4,000 years, were marked with small stones.

An archaeologist holds a repaired pot of high historical value (above). Artifacts found at the site, which are in the styles of North China, were used by immigrants from the north 4,000 years ago (below).

"This shows that the ancient people began to identify the tombs of their dead relatives," said Song. "It was great progress because before that, ancient Chinese did not know which tomb contained which dead person."

In several tombs the skeletons had been displaced, which is an indication they may have been moved from another burial site, said Chen Xiejun, vice-director with the Shanghai Museum.

"It might indicate that the burial did not take place immediately after death," said Chen. "Perhaps because the person may have died somewhere else."

In some southern areas, there still exists the custom of leaving a dead body in the open until only the skeleton remains. "That's because people think that the skeleton is the true condition of death, and since death is considered another starting point, only the skeleton should be put into the soil," Chen said.

Besides, all the skulls in the tombs were placed 210 degrees southwest. "It indicates that the dead are all from the same tribe or family," said Song. "As it is the common practice for the ancients in the same households to bury their dead in the same way."

Burnt soil was also found near each tomb, perhaps indicating that people in the region performed worship ceremonies to their ancestors.

Called liaoji in Chinese, literally meaning "burnt sacrifice," the ceremony could be carried out in two ways: one is to move the house in which the dead once lived to the tomb and burn it until it is turned into ashes; the other is to burn branches near the tomb to ashes.

"This kind of ceremony is typical of the region, which shows that local civilization began earlier here," said Song.

The findings have established the existence of Shanghai's civilization from 700 years ago to more than 4,000 years ago.

"It is commonly believed that Shanghai civilization began about 700 years ago when Shanghai became a county," said Chen. "But these findings show that before that, there existed people who lived and worked on the land." Chen suggested that archaeologists might find some underground site in the area that might be the earliest structure of the city.

The archaeological findings also prove that Shanghai was inhabited by immigrants even thousands of years ago. In several tombs, the archaeological team dug shreds of pottery typical of the northern regions, mainly the Yellow River reaches. Northern-style patterns such as rope, basket and leaf vein on the pottery have provided substantial clues to what has been an archaeological mystery.

About 4,000 years ago, a tribe in today's Henan Province in the north disappeared suddenly. Where and why they went have puzzled historians for years, but the recent find may provide a connection between the the tribe's disappearance and the tombs.

According to previous research, the tribe was forced to immigrate southward by a flood. They travelled until they came to Gaoyou in Jiangsu Province. After staying there for years, they again vanished, probably because the natural environment was inhospitable.

Evidence of the northern effect on the region was found on the site when archaeologists uncovered blocks especially used for building northern-pattern siheyuan,'' a compound with houses around a square courtyard.

To date there have been 29 archaeological digs in the Guangfulin region. Most of the sites have been left undisturbed. Chen said that archaeologists would resume their work at this site next winter.