URUMQI, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- Archaeologists have discovered the remnant of a bronze ware dating back more than 5,000 years at a site in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, local authorities said on Thursday.

The bronze ware, found at the Tongtiandong site, is believed to be the earliest of its kind ever unearthed in Xinjiang, said the excavation project's team leader Yu Jianjun from the regional institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

Yu has speculated that it was a decorative object. The discovery is of great significance to the study of metallurgy on the Eurasian grassland.

Discovered in 2014, the Tongtiandong site consists of three main caves and several smaller ones. It is the first Paleolithic cave site found in Xinjiang.

Since 2016, archaeologists have unearthed approximately 2,600 artifacts and remains of crops and plants, as well as nearly 10,000 animal fossils from the site.

It was selected as one of China's top 10 archaeological finds of 2017.