The history of Mongolia spans more than 500,000 years. Archaeological excavations throughout the country have revealed artifacts from the Stone and Bronze Ages. The prehistoric inhabitants of Mongolia are culturally linked to Central Asia, not China, in that they were nomadic herders, not settled cultivators. Mongolia today embraces the heartland of Chingiss Khan's empire, but it was the homeland of other nations long before the Mongols were first mentioned in the annals of the emperors of China.