Photo: Screenshot of online video

Five cat-paw-like gold ornaments from more than 2,700 years ago unearthed by archaeolo-gists in an ancient tomb in North China's Shanxi Province have recently stolen netizens' hearts for their "adorable appearance", according to media reports.

According to the Pear Video on Tuesday, the ancient tombs from China's Zhou Dynasty  (1046 BC - 256 BC) were discovered by the Shanxi Archaeological Research Institute in Hengqu, Shanxi.

"There are a total of five cat-paw-like ornaments found in one of these tombs. They are each about the size of a thumb," said Cao Jun, head of the archaeological team responsible for the excavation, "Judging by the spot where we found these ornaments, which were next to the waist of the tomb owner's body, these golden cat paws might be decorations on the owner's waistband."

Cao said that even though the decorations look like cat paws, there have been no clear un-earthed cultural relics that serve as evidence to show people at that time had begun raising pet cats.

Still, netizens on Sina Weibo believe that the ornaments belong to a cat lover in ancient times, saying that cats are so cute that it is possible cat lovers existed a long time ago.

These tombs were also excavated previously by experts, who found make-up for women and fruit wine made during pre-Qin Dynasty.