KUNMING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) -- A total of 1,580 cultural relics have been discovered during an archaeological dig in southwest China's Yunnan Province, along with 128 individual structures, according to the local cultural relics and archaeology research institute Saturday.

The excavation started in late May in the Mangga Relics Site, which covers an area of 110,000 square meters, in Gengma Dai and Va Autonomous County, in the city of Lincang, said Hu Changcheng, an associate researcher at the institute.

The unearthed artifacts mostly consist of stoneware, pottery, bronzeware and ironware, while the 128 structures include pits, tombs, grooves and kilns that belong to periods ranging from the Neolithic Age to the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).

The Mangga Relics Site and the cultural relics will provide important clues to the study on the nationality, culture and history of southwest Yunnan, Hu said. Enditem