The Shanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology announced on the 7th that 56 animal remains have been unearthed from Cave 3, the largest existing cave in the Yungang Grottoes, a world cultural heritage site. Archaeologists have analyzed these animal remains through technological means and found that they may be related to the use of animal power and the dietary structure of excavation workers. The Yungang Grottoes are located at the southern foot of Wuzhou (Zhou) Mountain, about 16 kilometers west of Datong City, Shanxi Province. From the mid-5th century to the early 6th century AD, the royal family of Northern Wei excavated large and small niches along the mountain wall at the southern foot of Wuzhou Mountain, and 252 niches of various sizes have been preserved to this day. The third cave is located at the western end of the eastern cave group area and is the largest cave in the Yungang Grottoes. The cave preserves a large number of traces of cave excavation, stone extraction, later repair, and use. Archaeologists in Shanxi Province conducted archaeological excavations on the ground in front of the third cave and the front chamber, and unearthed a large number of pottery shards, porcelain shards, stone carvings, coins, building components, and a small amount of animal bones. After identification, a total of 56 animal bones were unearthed from Cave 3, including dogs, horses, pigs, cows, and sheep. Archaeologists believe that the main animal resources used during the Northern Wei and Liao Jin periods were cattle and horses, while sheep and dogs did not show significant changes during these two periods, and pigs did not appear during the Northern Wei period. According to their relationship with humans, horses and cows may be related to animal power development, while dogs may serve as guards and companions. When these animals lose their utilitarian value, they are reused as meat. The number of animal bones unearthed from the site is not only small, but most of them are broken. The bones are mainly composed of skulls, teeth, and mandibles with relatively less meat, and only a small amount of limb bones with more meat content, reflecting a higher intensity of utilization. Archaeologists speculate that it was consumed by the craftsmen who excavated the grottoes, and it cannot be ruled out that some monks used it. It is rare to find animal remains unearthed from Buddhist sites such as grotto temples. From the perspective of animal archaeology, it to some extent restores the scene of the ancestors who used animal power to excavate grottoes in the third cave, and also explores the nutritional needs of the craftsmen in Yungang Grottoes for meat after a lot of labor. (New Society)