No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Rethinking the origin of microblade technology: A chronological and ecological perspective
Abstract
There are four hypotheses on the origin of microblade technology in North China: i) that it originated from Siberia before the Last Glacial Maximum; ii) that it emerged in Siberia after the Last Glacial Maximum; iii) that it developed from the long-narrow flakes produced by the long-established knapping tradition in North China; and iv) that it had multi-regional origins, among which, a microblade industry may have emerged from the bipolar technology in northern China. Based on archaeological data from Siberia, Mongolia, the Japanese archipelago, Korean Peninsula, and North China, it is reasonable to say that the technological groundwork of Siberia was more substantial, and the initial microblade technology appeared in Siberia earlier than in the other areas. Microblade technology was involved in core preparation, systematic knapping, soft hammer and indirect/pressure flaking techniques, which were all present in the blade technology in Siberia but hardly ever evidenced in the traditional flaking technology systems in North China. It is well accepted that the microblade technology was closely related the high mobility of foragers to live in harsh environments. The climatic fluctuations of the last glacial in Siberia were more severe than in low latitudes, and placed greater subsistence pressure on hunter-gatherers in Siberia. The advantages of the initial microblade technology in dealing with these hostile circumstances encouraged foragers to employ and develop it, and finally generated its widespread use during the Upper Paleolithic through human migration and cultural transmission in Northeast Asia and North America.
... They possess parallel-sided edges, and, according to the definition used here, are less than 3 mm thick and 7 mm wide (S.-Q. Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010). They were generally designed to form small, razor-sharp rows of stone that create continuous cutting edges inserted in slots grooved along the sides of wood, antler, or bone projectile points, as well as in knives and sickles. ...
... (Vasil'ev 2005, Keates's personal communication, Keates, 2007 Later Upper Paleolithic (LUP) industry shows significant difference with the Middle Upper Paleolithic (MUP) industry in Upper Yenisei River Basin, suggesting that microblade technology came from other regions, such as Japan via the Russian Far East (Graf, 2009b(Graf, , 2010 Microlithic technology first emerged in the trans-Baikal of Siberia from local blade technology (agrees with Goebel, 2002), and then diffused into North China due to hunting Mammuthus-Coelodonta fauna which migrated southward prior to the LGM (Zhu, 2006(Zhu, , 2008 See S.-Q. Chen (2008b) Microblade technology first appeared in the Altai Mountain area during the Middle to Upper Paleolithic transition (35 ky uncal. BP), and then subsequently appeared in S. Siberia, the Transbaikal (Kuzmin, 2007) See the viewpoint of abandonment of Siberia during the LGM (Goebel, 2002;Graf, 2005Graf, , 2010Graf, , 2015; Buvit, Terry and their colleagues insist on a Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kurile (PSHK) Peninsula origin of microblade technology (Buvit, Izuho, Terry, Konstantinov, & Konstantinov, 2016b;Terry et al., 2016) The chronological evidence shows a W-E patternthe earliest microblade sites are in the Russian Far East, China, Korea, and Japan (Keates, 2007) Northern microblade industry appears earliest in Siberia, and then spread eastward and southward 25-20 ky uncal. ...
... Chen, 2004; also see S.-Q. Chen, 2008b). ...
This project aims to provide a culture-ecological explanation of variation and change among microblade-based societies in Northeastern Asia during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene between c. 30,000 - 6,000 years ago. Assuming that paleoenvironmental changes stimulated cultural changes due to available food resources and that local environment conditioned cultural variation, the development of microblade-based societies can be divided into four phases (c.30-22 kya, 22-15 kya, 15-10 kya, 10-c.1 kya uncal. BP) in four regions (north continental, south continental, north insular, and south insular).
The study’s macroecological approach based on Constructing Frames of Reference (Binford 2001) is applied to elucidate the dynamics and mechanisms of cultural variation and change among microblade-based societies. After mapping the main impacts of Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) climatic conditions on the lifeways of hunter-gatherers, output files of the EnvCalc2.1 program under glacial and interglacial climatic conditions provide comparative frames of reference for the microblade-based societies in Northeast Asia. This dissertation combines the macroecological approach, the paleoclimate record, and lithic technological organization against the background of two waves of cultural change. The first wave involved the formation and convergence of microblade-based societies (in MIS 3 to MIS 2, Phase I to Phase II), referring to case studies in the “Southern Siberia Belt” and Northern China, while the second wave was the development and ultimate divergence of microblade-based societies (MIS 2 to MIS 1, Phases II and III to Phase IV), involving case studies in the Japanese Archipelago, Eastern Siberia, Northern China, and the Tibetan Plateau.
The six case studies suggest that the macroecological approach is much more productive and has greater explanatory power than previous, culture-historical studies of the microblade phenomenon. The results of the analyses suggest that the origin and spread of microblade technology involved complex cultural processes driven by the reduction of ungulate biomass under LGM climatic conditions and existing local technological traditions, rather than being simply explained by human migration events eastward to the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kuril (PSHK) Peninsula and southward to Northern China from the Transbaikal region of Eastern Siberia. During the Pleistocene to Holocene transition, the shift from Late Paleolithic to Mesolithic-like industries in the Japanese Archipelago and Eastern Siberia, hallmarked by replacement of microblade technology with alternative stone point technologies, was associated with relatively xi higher percentages of aquatic resources in human subsistence, adoption of ceramic technology, and the establishment of sedentism. The adoption of agriculture in Northern China was associated with decline of microblade technology during the early Holocene, a phenomenon that is explained in the macroecological approach by replacement of hunting-dominated economies by gathering- and/or- fishing-dominated economies linked with population growth during the interglacial or interstadial periods, matching the maps under the packed condition of regional population. The three stages of development of microblade-based societies on the Tibetan Plateau witnessed colonization from the northeastern and southeastern edges of this major upland, suggesting that the combination of hunting-gathering and farming economies helped early Tibetans to fully occupy the Earth’s highest associated with low effective temperatures and a short growing season. Thus, the diversification of microblade-based societies during the post-LGM resulted as responses to diverse environmental conditions across this vast region of the world during a time of major climatic fluctuations.
... small, specially prepared cores of fine-grain stone. They possess parallel-sided edges, and, according to the definition used here, are less than 3 mm thick and 7 mm wide (Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010). They were generally designed to form small, razor-sharp rows of stone that create continuous cutting edges inserted in slots grooved along the sides of wood, antler, or bone projectile points, as well as in knives and sickles (Ames & Maschner, 2000;Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010). ...
... They possess parallel-sided edges, and, according to the definition used here, are less than 3 mm thick and 7 mm wide (Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010). They were generally designed to form small, razor-sharp rows of stone that create continuous cutting edges inserted in slots grooved along the sides of wood, antler, or bone projectile points, as well as in knives and sickles (Ames & Maschner, 2000;Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010). Archaeologists argue that people often and mainly used the microblade-equipped projectile points to hunt mammals using a spear thrower (Dixon, 2010(Dixon, , 2013, and this is supported by recent experimental archaeology and micro-wear research (Iwase et al., 2016;Pétillon et al., 2016;Sano, 2012;Sano et al., 2016). ...
... The techniques are always associated with specific ways of working stone in the northern circum-Pacific during the Upper Paleolithic, such as wedge-shaped core preparation (Kuzmin et al., 2007b). Several archaeologists provide various definitions (e.g., Ames & Maschner, 2000;Chen, 2008b;Dixon, 2010;Keates, 2007;Terry et al., 2016). ...
Microblade technology was widely adopted in northeastern Asia during the Late Upper Paleolithic, which was represented by various types of microcores in Siberia, Mongolia, northern China, the Korean Peninsula, and the Japanese Archipelago, as well as northwestern North America in eastern Beringia. Although some works have turned to technology-function-oriented research, most of the current studies follow a culture-historical paradigm, which has severely limited archaeological investigation on variation and change of hunter-gatherers’ adaptive strategies equipped with microblade technology. This paper aims to provide a new viewpoint to investigate the role of microblade technology in the development of human adaptations in northeastern Asia, by proposing a new concept: “microblade-based societies.” Assuming that paleoenvironmental changes stimulated cultural changes due to available food resources and that local environment conditioned cultural variation, the development of microblade-based societies can be divided into four phases (c.40–22 kya, 22–15 kya, 15–10 kya, 10–c.1 kya uncal. BP) in four regions (north continental, south continental, north insular, and south insular). Two waves of cultural change among microblade-based societies are also recognized in this paper, which needs a macroecological approach to do further explanation.
... In recent years, it has often been argued that microblade technology emerged in the form of carinated, prismatic and narrowed prismatic cores, including wedge-and boat-shaped varieties in the latter half of MIS 3 in Siberia and Mongolia before spreading to other parts of Northeast Asia, including Northern China, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago (Derevianko, 2001(Derevianko, , 2005Shunkov, 2002, 2004;Keats, 2007;Kuzmin, 2007;Gladyshev et al., 2012;Zwyns, 2012;Kozyrev et al., 2014;Yi et al., 2016). Interestingly, similar techno-morphological characteristics of microblade technology-frequently referred to as bladelet technology-have been confirmed in various lithic industries belonging to the latter half of MIS 3, such as the Kulbulakian in Central Asia (e.g., Kolobova et al., 2013;, the Ahmarian, Levantine Aurignacian and Baradostian in West Asia (e.g., Olsezewski and Dibble, 1994;Belfer-Cohen and Goring-Morris, 2002;Goring-Morris and Davidzon, 2006;Otte and Kozlowski, 2007;Otte et al., 2011;Tsanova, 2013). ...
... Expanding the spatiotemporal scale over which the designation microblade technology is used raises new issues about the nature and significance of this phenomenon. Apparently, significant differences can be observed between microblade technology that appeared in the latter half of MIS 3 in Siberia and Mongolia and microblade technology sensu stricto distributed across various regions of Northeast Asia in MIS 2 (Yi et al., 2016;Guan et al., 2020). The microblades found in lithic assemblages belonging to MIS 2 are highly regular with consistently parallel lateral margins as well as systematically and repeatedly produced from microblade cores (e.g., Terry et al., 2016;Nakazawa and Akai, 2020). ...
... include microblade-like longitudinal debitage having a slightly curved shape with non-straight dorsal ridges. As many researchers have suggested, these lithic assemblages may belong to the period before and around the LGM (e.g., Ust'-Karakol-1, Anui-2, Ui-1, Kurtak-4, Derbina-V, Mal'ta, Bol'shoj Naryn, Tuyana, Krasny-Yar-1, Kashtanka-1, Tolbor-15 and Dörölji-1) (e.g., Vasil'ev, 1993;Goebel, 1999;Derevianko, 2001;Derevianko and Shunkov, 2002;Jaubert et al., 2004;Keats, 2007;Sato et al., 2008;Gladyshev et al., 2010;Kharevich et al., 2010;Zwyns, 2012;Zwyns et al., 2014;Kozyrev et al., 2014;Yi et al., 2016;Shchetnikov et al., 2019). The productions of microblade-like debitage in these sites make up a small part of the total lithic assemblages. ...
Until recently, several hypotheses on the origin(s) and dispersion of microblade technology in Northeast Asia have been presented and discussed. Although various definitions of microblade and bladelet have been proposed in diverse geographic and chronological contexts, several researchers may agree that the pressure knapping technique for microblade production plays a paramount role in the process of significant changes in lithic technology and human behaviours between marine isotope stages (MIS) 3 and 2. One of the main topics in the study of microblade technology in Northeast Asia is establishing a systematic and reliable method for identifying microblade knapping techniques that are quantitatively verified. This paper attempts to present a more improved method for identifying microblade knapping techniques by dealing with the analysis of fracture wings which are the reliable indicators of the crack velocity. The focus of this paper is on identifying obsidian microblade-like debitage knapping techniques in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) assemblage of Kawanishi-C in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. The results of fracture wing analysis show that the microblade-like longitudinal debitage production at the Kashiwadai-C site was employed by not pressure but percussion techniques. This gives new insights into the diversity of microblade and microblae-like debitage reduction sequences in the LGM Hokkaido and complex process of significant changes in lithic technology, especially in relation to the emergence of microblade technology. In addition, this study shows that the analysis of fracture wings can allow appropriate technological evaluation of the microblades and microblade-like longitudinal debitage production in the period before and around the LGM in Northeast Asia.
... During the Late Pleistocene a general trend towards lithic microlithization was witnessed around the globe (Kuhn and Elston 2002;Pargeter and Shea, 2019), including in southern Asia (Petraglia et al., 2019;Wedage et al. 2019). The microblade technology that arose in northern Asia is also a distinctive example of this trend, which differs from the geometric microlithic technology used in Europe, North Africa, and southern Asia (Kimura 1997;Norton et al. 2007;Qu et al. 2013;Yi et al. 2016). Prevailing information indicates that microblade technologies first appeared in southern Siberia, and from there it developed and spread, with a subsequent large-scale geographic diffusion both southward and eastward during early MIS 2 ( Fig. 1a) (Derevianko et al. 1998;Elston and Brantingham 2002;Derevianko and Shunkov 2004;Kuzmin 2007;Buvit et al. 2016;Yi et al. 2016;Wang 2018b;Du et al. 2019). ...
... The microblade technology that arose in northern Asia is also a distinctive example of this trend, which differs from the geometric microlithic technology used in Europe, North Africa, and southern Asia (Kimura 1997;Norton et al. 2007;Qu et al. 2013;Yi et al. 2016). Prevailing information indicates that microblade technologies first appeared in southern Siberia, and from there it developed and spread, with a subsequent large-scale geographic diffusion both southward and eastward during early MIS 2 ( Fig. 1a) (Derevianko et al. 1998;Elston and Brantingham 2002;Derevianko and Shunkov 2004;Kuzmin 2007;Buvit et al. 2016;Yi et al. 2016;Wang 2018b;Du et al. 2019). The reasons for the rapid spread of this technology have been debated, and several technological and adaptive advantages of microblade technology have been emphasized, viewing these lithic assemblages as easily replaceable and portable toolkits during economic pursuits (Bar-Yosef and Kuhn 1999; Pargeter and Shea, 2019). ...
... Here we adopt a more general definition by which microblade technology refers to the systematic production of microblades through microblade core preparation, utilizing soft hammer techniques, indirect percussion and/or pressure flaking (An 1978;Seong 1998;Kuzmin 2007;Yi et al. 2016). Microblades, as predetermined products, are small, elongated blades (typically with a width of ≤7 mm and a length that is at least twice the size of the width) with parallel edges. ...
The geographic and ecological background behind the development and spread of microblade technologies in Asia is a topic of considerable research interest. Microblade technologies are geographically widespread, and present in southern Siberia, the Russian Far East, Mongolia, northern China, the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. Here we examine microblade sites of Northeast China which date to from ~28,000 years ago to the end of the Pleistocene. Though microblade assemblages in Northeast China are found to share a number of technological traits, regional divergences are identifiable on account of raw material differences. Technological changes through time correspond with climatic and environmental shifts during Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2). Microblade technology has its root in southern Siberia on the basis of early age ranges, and thereafter, these assemblages diffused widely, both southward and eastward into China. Microblade industries subsequently underwent a standardization process in Northeast China, leading to the formation of pressure flaking microblade technology on typical wedge-shaped cores of the Northern Microblade Industry (NMI). The NMI appears to have then diffused relatively rapidly across northern and eastern Asia, perhaps representing population movements and cultural interactions.
... Microblade technology enables the production and maintenance of compact and lightweight stone tools that can be used as part of composite tools. For humans adapted to a cold and dry environment in the Upper Palaeolithic, the manufacturing and use of microblades can be considered an important technological choice for behavioural adaptation in terms of efficiently using and transporting lithic raw materials collected during foraging [3,12,13]. ...
... It is widely known that microblade technology was distributed across regions of northeast Asia, such as North China, the Korean peninsula, the Russian Far East, Mongolia and Siberia [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Many researchers have made advances with comparing the techno-typological features of microblade assemblages and accumulating radiocarbon dates. ...
... Understanding when and how microblade technology appeared and disappeared in each region has been a topic of debate in northeast Asian Upper Palaeolithic research. Although several hypotheses on the origin(s) of microblade technology in northeast Asia have been presented and debated until recently [6,13,15,16,22,23], the disappearance of microblade technology in each region has received less attention. ...
Archaeological research, for several decades, has shown that various microblade technologies using obsidian and hard shale appeared and developed from the Last Glacial Maximum to the terminal Pleistocene (Bølling–Allerød–Younger Dryas) in Hokkaido, Northern Japan. It is well accepted that microblade technology was closely related to the high mobility of foragers to adapt to harsh environments. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence from Hokkaido demonstrates that the disappearance of microblade technology occurred during the terminal Pleistocene, influenced by a wide range of factors, including changes in landscape, climate, subsistence and human populations. The goal of this paper is to provide an overview of the current state of research on the process and background of the disappearance of microblade technology and to discuss prospects for future research. This paper will (1) review palaeoenvironmental research in Hokkaido on changes in climate and biological composition from the terminal Pleistocene to the initial Holocene; (2) survey changes in the technological adaptations and resource use of humans based on the archaeological evidence; and (3) discuss how the abrupt fluctuations of climate that occurred in the terminal Pleistocene affected human behaviour and demographics in Hokkaido.
... The distribution of this lithic industry was limited to the northern part of North China. Sites in Mongolia and the Siberian Altai contain similar lithic technology, and they are generally earlier (Derevianko 2011;Li, Kuhn et al. 2014;Li, Chen et al. 2016;Zwyns et al. 2014). For this reason, researchers have proposed that the macro-blade industry appeared in Shuidonggou as a result of technological diffusion Peng, Wang and Gao 2014) or population dispersal from Mongolia and/or the Altai (Li, Kuhn et al. 2014;Li, Chen et al. 2016). ...
... Sites in Mongolia and the Siberian Altai contain similar lithic technology, and they are generally earlier (Derevianko 2011;Li, Kuhn et al. 2014;Li, Chen et al. 2016;Zwyns et al. 2014). For this reason, researchers have proposed that the macro-blade industry appeared in Shuidonggou as a result of technological diffusion Peng, Wang and Gao 2014) or population dispersal from Mongolia and/or the Altai (Li, Kuhn et al. 2014;Li, Chen et al. 2016). Assemblages dominated exclusively by prismatic blade and bladelet production, typical of the later Upper Paleolithic in western Eurasia, have not yet been identified in the Shuidonggou area. ...
... Assemblages dominated exclusively by prismatic blade and bladelet production, typical of the later Upper Paleolithic in western Eurasia, have not yet been identified in the Shuidonggou area. But assemblages with prismatic blades, associated with the use of obsidian, have been identified at some sites in northeast China (Chen, Wang, Fang and Zhao 2006;Li, Chen et al. 2016). Unfortunately the northeast Chinese sites are not precisely dated, and the relationship between early UP and typical UP assemblages in northern China remains unknown. ...
The timing and behavioral markers of the Upper Paleolithic in different parts of the world are of great importance to research on modern human dispersals. The pattern of behavioral developments in the Upper Paleolithic in northern China differs in important ways from the patterns observed in West Eurasia, Africa, and South Asia. Shuidonggou (SDG), a cluster of Paleolithic sites in northern China, contains several of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in the region. Various localities yield evidence of three major cultural components dated by ¹⁴C, uranium-series, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods to between roughly 46 ka and 10 ka. The oldest component, blade assemblages with western Eurasian early Upper Paleolithic characteristics, appears to be intrusive from Siberia and/or Mongolia, beginning at least 41 ka (e.g., SDG 1 and SDG 9). Advanced core and flake assemblages may mark the appearance of an indigenous Late Paleolithic of North China beginning at around 33 ka (e.g., SDG 2 and SDG 8). Finally, around 10.5 ka, microblade technology arrived in the area (SDG 12), although we are not sure of its origins at present. Other typical Upper Paleolithic cultural remains, such as bone tools and body decorations, have been found at various localities in the SDG area as well (e.g., ostrich eggshell beads from SDG 2, 7, and 8). Information from this cluster of occupations increases our understanding of cultural variability, adaptation, and demographic dynamics of modern humans in Late Pleistocene northern Asia.
... Earlier publications on the Chinese Upper Paleolithic often refer to the LGM as falling between ca. 24-18 Ka cal BP, so this more recent chronological definition that is based on the coldest period, i.e., Greenland Stadial 3 (Hughes et al., 2013;Hughes and Gibbard, 2015), forces us to look carefully again at correlations with the archaeological record, which indicates a progressive depopulation in Europe and North Asia after 25 Ka BP (Gamble et al., 2004), and in China possibly around the same time period north of 41 latitude (Barton et al., 2007;Gao and Dennell, 2014;Ji et al., 2005;Yi et al., 2016). ...
... The Loess Plateau of northern China already provides preliminary clues concerning the impact of the LGM on the distribution of sites: although the number of dated Upper Paleolithic sites is limited, there is a clear decrease during the LGM (Barton et al., 2007;Qu et al., 2013;Yi et al., 2016). The northernmost sites that remain during this period include Youfang in Hebei Province (40 14 0 N, 114 41 0 E) (Nian et al., 2014), the Shuidonggou localities in Ningxia Province (38 21 N, 106 29 0 E) (Pei et al., 2012), the Shizitan localities in Jixian, Shanxi Province (36 2 0 N, 110 35 0 E), Longwangchan in Shaanxi Province (36 9 0 45 00 N, 110 26 0 15 00 E) across the Yellow River from Shizitan (Yin and Wang, 2007;Zhang et al., 2011), and Xiachuan, also in Shanxi (35 25 0 N, 112 00 0 E) (Wang et al., 1978;Shi, 1989;Chen, 1996;Tang, 2000). ...
... A rich assemblage of 74,735 lithic artifacts were retrieved during the systematic excavations at Shizitan 29 (Table 1). These combined with the stratified deposits and large series of radiocarbon dates provides an unprecedented opportunity to study changes in lithic technology across the LGM period, including one of the earliest appearances of microblade technology in China (e.g., Zhang et al., 2011;Yi et al., 2014Yi et al., , 2016. Stone raw materials are mainly flint and quartzite, with some quartz, as well as sandstone, mudstone, agate, and other cryptocrystalline rocks. ...
Global cooling during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) posed significant challenges to peoples living in northern Eurasia. Using micromorphology, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPP), and faunal analyses, this study reconstructs the local paleoenvironmental contexts of repeated ephemeral occupations at Shizitan 29 in Shanxi Province, North China, across the LGM, from ca. 28 to 18 Ka cal BP, followed by a gap until a final occupation ca.13.5 Ka cal BP. Among the significant finds at Shizitan 29 are remains of 285 hearths and a rich lithic assemblage that contains the earliest radiocarbon-dated evidence for microblades in China, appearing first in Layer 7. The environmental data show that the low mountains and tributary river valleys of the Yellow River in the Loess Plateau provided abundant sources of water and food in spite of environmental fluctuations. Microblade-producing groups repeatedly visiting this locality survived severe climate change by making use of fire, selective herbivore hunting, processing plant foods with grinding stones, and symbolic ornamentation such as ostrich shell beads. NPP data also indicate the potential presence of flax and other fiber processing. The Shizitan 29 data demonstrate how humans adapted to challenging local conditions throughout the LGM, allowing them to stay within this northerly region without migrating to warmer southern latitudes.
... Microblades are an advanced lithic technology invented somewhere in northernmost East Asia or perhaps Siberia [4,114]. They spread southward as evidenced by their discovery at various archaeological sites, and between approximately 21 and 11 kya had reached their southern limit defined by the Qinling-Huaihe Line [8]; the foragers to the south of the Qinling-Huaihe Line continued to rely on primitive coreand-flake and cobble tools, possibly supplemented by bamboo implements, into the early Holocene [12]. ...
... We have not mentioned palaeoclimate, except implicitly in connection with the initial distribution of malaria. Yi et al. [114] argue that, in the cold and harsh high-latitude environments where food was not easily obtained, microblades would have served as reliable, transportable and replaceable components of composite tools. They also claim that this technology spread from Siberia to northern China, among other northern regions, during the last glacial, but not to warmer southern China where resources were more homogeneously distributed. ...
An unsolved archaeological puzzle of the East Asian Upper Palaeolithic is why the southward expansion of an innovative lithic technology represented by microblades stalled at the Qinling–Huaihe Line. It has been suggested that the southward migration of foragers with microblades stopped there, which is consistent with ancient DNA studies showing that populations to the north and south of this line had differentiated genetically by 19 000 years ago. Many infectious pathogens are believed to have been associated with hominins since the Palaeolithic, and zoonotic pathogens in particular are prevalent at lower latitudes, which may have produced a disease barrier. We propose a mathematical model to argue that mortality due to infectious diseases may have arrested the wave-of-advance of the technologically advantaged foragers from the north.
... The latest research also indicates that the microblade technocomplex which occurred in the east part of northern China and its eastern surroudings from 28 cal. ka BP and proliferated widely across northern China and eastern Eurasian Steppe during the Late Upper Paleotlihic (~23-11 ka BP) likely developed from modified microlithized blade technology introduced from the eastern Eurasian Steppe, moreso than the local coreflake tradition [5]. Such patterns suggest enhanced technological connections between western Eurasia and East Asia from 50 cal. ...
... Usually, these microblades are detached by pressure flaking from specifically shaped pre-formed cores [89,90]. It is highly debated as to whether microblade technology developed out of the local core-flake techno-complex, or was introduced from Mongolia-Siberia [5,[91][92][93]. Based on the newest archaeological discoveries, we propose that microblade technology in northern China neither developed in-situ from local core-flake technology, nor was imported wholesale directly from Mongolia-Siberia. ...
The successful occupation of the eastern Eurasian Steppe in the Late Pleistocene improved cultural connections between western Eurasia and East Asia. We document multiple waves of lithic technological transmission between the eastern Eurasian Steppe and northern China during 50-11 cal. ka BP. These waves are apparent in the sequential appearance of three techno-complexes in northern China: (1) the Mousterian techno-complex, (2) the blade techno-complex mixed with Mousterian elements, (3) and the microlithized blade techno-complex. These lithic techno-complexes were transmitted under different paleoen-vironmental conditions along different pathways through the eastern Eurasian Steppe. The Mousterian techno-complex and the blade techno-complex mixed with Mousterian elements were only dispersed in the north and west peripheries of northern China (50-33 cal. ka BP). We argue that these techno-complexes failed to penetrate into the hinterland of northern China because they were not well suited to local geographical conditions. In contrast, the microlithized blade technology which diffused from the eastern Eurasian Steppe was locally modified into a Microblade techno-complex which was highly suited to local environmental conditions, and proliferated across the hinterland of northern China (28/27-11 cal. ka BP). The subsequent spread of microblade technology over vast regions of Mongolia and Siberia indicates that the Pleistocene inhabitants of northern China not only adopted and modified technologies from their neighbors in the Eurasian Steppe, but these modified variants were subsequently transmitted back into the Eurasian Steppe. These episodes of technological transmission indicate complicated patterns of population dispersal and technological interaction across northern China and the eastern Eurasian Steppe.
... Geographic areas in East Asia proposed as centers of origins of microblade production include North China (Zhao et al. 2021; Barton, Brantingham, and Ji 2007), Northeast China (Yue et al. 2021), southern Siberia (Transbaikal) (Terry, Buvit, and Konstantinov 2016;Yi et al. 2016), northern Mongolia and the Altai (Kuzmin 2007; but see Kuzmin and Keates 2021), and the Korean peninsula (Kuzmin and Keates 2021;Keates, Postnov, and Kuzmin 2019), with origins dating to the LGM or earlier and spread tied to climate changes (Zhang 2021). However, the typological orientation common to many discussions (see Zhang 2021) cannot appropriately identify technological origins and evolution. ...
... A related problem is that when analyses center upon these final morphologies of spent cores, other elements of the assemblages representing other stages of the reduction sequences are ignored that could provide behavioral information, including the technical objectives of each stage of the reduction sequences (Song et al. 2019). Thus, overemphasis on microcore morphotypes results in wedge-shaped vs. boat-shaped being considered the central adaptive achievements (e.g., Feng 2020; Yi et al. 2016;Shao 2010;Chen 2007Chen , 1994Ji et al. 2005;Xie 2000) or even being considered as markers of social groups (e.g., Zhang 2021; Chen and Zhang 2018;Kato 2015). While the technical roles of core morphology are traditionally under-valued, our techno-functional analysis shows that changes in these roles are critical in understanding the evolution of microblade pressure production. ...
A techno-functional approach applied to the lithics of the Late Upper Palaeolithic Shizitan 29 site allows the identification of previously unrecognized technical features of microblade pressure production and new behavioral understanding of its evolution beginning ca. 26,000 cal b.p. These technical features may relate to the evolution of so-called boat-shaped cores, including the development of two blade scar sequences and the 8-like contour of the striking platform (likely related to fixing cores in a holding device). Counter to traditional typological lithic analyses centered on final core morphologies, we seek to identify technical objectives related to the required pressure production. In doing so, we argue that earlier semi-conical cores may have maximized the exploitation of the core volume, while subsequent boat-shaped cores developed to maximize the efficiency of the production of straight profile, regular blades. This allowed microblades to become a critical adaptation for final Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in northern East Asia.
... According to the researchers, micro-blade tools suddenly appeared in northern China, the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Far East, and northern Japan around the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum. According to Yi et al. (2015), this technology was ideally suited for the needs of the coldadapted hunter-gatherers of this period. Prior technology for making a knife utilized a large stone blade that was knapped from a larger stone. ...
... Strong archaeological support for this southward expansion is the sudden appearance of micro-blade artifacts in China that occurred roughly 23 thousand years ago. According to Yi et al. (2015) the micro-blade tool making tradition was initially perfected by the mammoth steppes of Siberia, a technological innovation that met the needs of cold-adapted hunter-gatherers in this region of the world. ...
To deciphering the prehistory of language, I take advantage of a new research direction that arose roughly 40 years ago in the field of genetics. Researchers utilize molecular genetic variation to explore human evolutionary history. Some have attempted to extend this new research direction even further with the idea that genetic tools can explain the prehistory of language. Genetic and linguistic variation should have a good correlation as we inherit our genes and the mother tongue from our parents. Nevertheless, deciphering language prehistory with genetic data required resolution of several questions: Contemporary DNA, or ancient DNA, or both? Mitochondrial, Y-chromosome, or autosomal markers? Should we build models of language prehistory with statistical methods? Or should we build models with a synthesis of archaeological and paleo-climatological data? With this monograph, I suggest that we employ triangulated Y-chromosome-based modeling.
My research had identified at least 110 linguistically informative Y-chromosome mutations. The evolutionary history of these mutations suggests that the story of language begins over 100 thousand years ago when Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa. Subsequent migrations as well as cultural and evolutionary adaptations then explain the expansion of language to the four corners of the globe. A discussion of this expansion includes Lake Mungo man in Australia, the mammoth steppes of Eurasia, the humid phase of the Sahara Desert, the bidirectional migration of reindeer herders along the Arctic Circle, raised field agriculture along the rivers of the Amazon rain forest, the arrival of rice agriculture in South Asia, malaria in the tropics, and hypoxia on the Tibetan Plateau.
... Nonetheless, how microblade technology evolved from the preceding lithic industry is still highly debated. The prevailing view considers South Siberia as the original center of microblade technology, because this region has a long tradition of blade technology since the beginning of the Upper Paleolithic (from 42 cal ka BP) (Keates 2007;Kuzmin 2007;Yi et al. 2016;Zhu 2008;Bae 2010). The microcores and tiny blades embedded within large blade core reduction trajectories can be identified in the Altai area as early as 40-30 cal ka BP (Derevianko 2005). ...
... Such small-sized lithic complex became more frequent at the sites across the Yenisei River valley and Transbaikal areas during 30-25 cal BP (Graf 2010;Terry et al. 2016;Buvit et al. 2015). Due to the comparatively smaller sizes of these blades to regular blades, some scholars consider them to be a prototype of microblade cores and end products (Yi et al. 2016;Derevianko and Shunkov 2005;Kuzmin 2007). Nonetheless, other scholars insist that the true microblade technology is characterized by producing more diminutive and standardized laminar strips (i.e., microblade) than small blades (often referred to as bladelets). ...
This paper examines how microblade technology emerged in North China based on the case study of the newly excavated Xishi and Dongshi sites in the hinterland of North China. Used as the lithic production area, Xishi and Dongshi sites generated abundant lithic debris which show the presence of a precocious form of microblade techno-complex embedded within the blade techno-complex. Radiocarbon dating suggests that they are among the earliest microblade sites ever found in North China. A chaîne opératoire approach is used to analyze the lithic assemblage of these two sites to investigate the specific features of the precocious form of microblade technology and its correlations to blade technology. The results indicate that the precocious microblade assemblage shows close technical affinity with the blade assemblage but is different from blade technology due to the frequent appliance of the pressure method to produce smaller end products from more diminutive cores. It indicates that the emergence of microblade technology in North China was a local technological innovation based upon blade technology which diffused from Siberia-Mongolia. Its appearance reflects a culturally meditated technological adaptation to cope with environmental change during LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) period.
... The late Pleistocene in North China witnessed a transformation from the traditional small-flake-tool industry to the microblade industry. With regard to the origin and evolution of modern humans, the origin and emergence of microblade techniques has long been a controversial topic of archaeological research (Jia, 1978;Nian et al., 2014;Yi et al., 2016;Song et al., 2017;Wang, 2018Wang, , 2019Guan et al., 2020;Sun et al., 2021). The focus of contention is whether microblade techniques came from the north, such as Siberia and Altai, or from a local source. ...
... From the perspective of Paleolithic development during the late Pleistocene, some researchers have tried to prove that microblade technology resulted from the technological adaptation of indigenous hominins (Yi et al., 2016). Several microblade sites in North China recently have been re-excavated and newly excavated. ...
Sites dated to the early late Pleistocene are still limited in North China, which has hindered the detailed analysis of the development of Paleolithic industries in the late Pleistocene in this area. The Youfangbei (YFB) site is a newly excavated small-flake-tool Paleolithic site near the Youfang (YF) microblade site in the Nihewan Basin, North China. Because the small-flake-tool industry still existed in the late part of the late Pleistocene and might be related to the emergence of microlithic industries, the relationship between the two sites needs to be determined through a chronological study. Two profiles were excavated, and most of the artifact assemblages were unearthed in the lower profile (T1) from a depth of 0.9 m from the bottom. In this study, the feldspar post-infrared infrared stimulated luminescence method was applied to determine the age of the YFB site. Results showed that the upper profile was deposited from 86–0.5 ka, and the cultural layer in T1 yielded age of 124–82 ka, corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5, with an irregular but generally mild climate. The age of the YFB site is too old to be directly related to that of the YF site, but it partly bridges a chronological gap of human occupation in the Nihewan Basin.
... There is still controversy about the origin of the microblade technology (Chen, 2013;Gai, 1991;Li, 1993;Yi et al., 2016;Zhang, 1990). It should be noted that the proportion of microblade products in microblade-based assemblages in northern China is low; for example, the proportion of microblade cores and microblades at the Xishi site in Henan Province accounted for only 4% and 6.8%, respectively, of the total unearthed lithic artifacts (Gao, 2011), and cores and blanks associated with the prismatic method are rare in terminal Pleistocene microblade-based assemblages. ...
... The prismatic blade technology may be traced with multiple independent periods and regions contributing to its origin (Johnson and McBrearty, 2010;Wilkins and Chazan, 2012), yet the earliest record of such a technology in eastern Eurasia during the Upper Paleolithic is also traced to the Altai area. The origin of the microblade is controversial; still, the earliest reports indicate the Altai area as major candidate (Yi et al., 2016). Therefore it is not difficult to see that the Altai area in eastern Eurasia played a critical role in technology diffusion in the Upper Paleolithic in Northeast Asia, during which time new lithic technology was spread from the origin to different regions of East and Northeast Asia. ...
In recent years, the origin and evolution of modern human behaviors have become a common topic of research in Paleolithic archaeology. One important part of modern human behavior, blade technology, was once thought to be unique to modern humans. Recent studies have suggested that variations in blade technology do not fully correspond to modern populations. However, the standardization, diversity, discontinuity in terms of time distribution, and differences in spatial distribution of blade technology give it an important role in discussions of modes of adaptation, diffusion of technology, and population migration of hominins. By categorizing the major blade assemblages in China, we show that there were two blade reduction methods in northern China: the Levallois method and the prismatic method. Dating back 30000–40000 years, the Levallois and prismatic blade method combined to form the characteristics of the early stage of the Upper Paleolithic. Artifacts bearing such characteristics are located in Northwest China, Northeast China, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The unearthed blades are similar in technological organization and are connected geographically with those discovered in Siberia and Mongolia, which also indicates a distinct border from those discovered in northern China. This fact is suggestive of population immigration. About 25000–29000 years ago, a combination of prismatic blades and microblades was developed in the hinterland of China; however whether it can be regarded as the representative of population migration or only a technological adaption remains undetermined. We suggest that the system of production of different blades should be distinguished in the study of blade assemblages and that different blade methods should not be integrated into a single technical system to discuss technology diffusion and population dispersal.
... Ein starkes archäologisches Indiz für diese südliche Ausbreitung ist das plötzliche Auftauchen von Artefakten mit Mikroklingen in China, das vor etwa 23.000 Jahren stattfand. Nach Yi et al. (2015) wurde die Tradition der Herstellung von Mikroklingen-Werkzeugen zunächst in den Mammutsteppen Sibiriens perfektioniert, eine technologische Innovation, die den Bedürfnissen der an die Kälte angepassten Jäger und Sammler in dieser Region der Welt entsprach. ...
Die englische Originalausgabe dieser Monografie erschien 2021 unter den Titel The Prehistory of Language: A Triangulated Y-Chromosome-Based Perspective. Ich bin Linguist und habe diese Übersetzung für meine Kollegen aus dem Sprachbereich angefertigt. Dennoch hoffe ich, dass andere akademische Forscher sich für diese Arbeit interessieren werden, insbesondere Genetiker, Archäologen, Anthropologen und Geowissenschaftler. Diejenigen, die ein allgemeines Interesse an Sprache und Genetik haben, sind ebenfalls herzlich eingeladen, meine Monografie zu lesen.
In den letzten vierzig Jahren haben Forscher dank der Sequenzierungstechnologie die molekulargenetische Variation genutzt, um die menschliche Evolutionsgeschichte zu erforschen. Einige haben versucht, diese neue Forschungsrichtung noch weiter auszudehnen mit der Idee, dass genetische Werkzeuge die Vorgeschichte der Sprache erklären können. Da wir unsere Gene und unsere Muttersprache von unseren Eltern geerbt haben, sollten genetische und sprachliche Variationen gut miteinander korrelieren. Die Entschlüsselung der sprachlichen Vorgeschichte anhand genetischer Daten erfordert jedoch die Klärung mehrerer Fragen. Sollen wir die heutige DNA oder die alte DNA oder beides verwenden? Sollen wir mitochondriale, Y-Chromosomen- oder autosomale Marker verwenden? Sollten wir Modelle der Sprachvorgeschichte mit statistischen Methoden erstellen? Oder sollten wir Modelle mit einer Synthese aus archäologischen und paläoklimatologischen Daten erstellen? Ich schlage vor, dass wir eine triangulierte Y-Chromosom-basierte Modellierung als methodische Lösung für die Entschlüsselung der Vorgeschichte der Sprache mit genetischen Werkzeugen verwenden.
In meiner Forschung wurden mindestens 110 sprachlich informative Y-Chromosom-Mutationen identifiziert. Die Evolutionsgeschichte dieser Mutationen deutet darauf hin, dass die Geschichte der Sprache vor etwa 100 000 Jahren begann, als der Homo sapiens aus Afrika auswanderte. Nachfolgende Migrationen sowie kulturelle und evolutionäre Anpassungen erklären dann die Ausbreitung der Sprache in alle Teile der Welt. Zu dieser Ausbreitung gehören der Mungo-See-Mensch in Australien, die Mammutsteppen Eurasiens, die feuchte Phase der Sahara-Wüste, die bidirektionale Migration von Rentierzüchtern entlang des Polarkreises, der Ackerbau entlang der Flüsse des Amazonas-Regenwaldes, die Einführung des Reisanbaus in Südasien, Malaria in den Tropen und Hypoxie auf dem tibetischen Plateau.
... Then, between 19,000 BP and 14,000 BP, we are in the final Eurasian Upper Palaeolithic which dominates the entire Eurasian spectrum, with the exception of southern China and a part of the Tibetan plateau. This final Upper Paleolithic is characterized by the presence of microblade industries, bladelets produced by pressure, certain specific debitage methods such as Dyuktay, Yubetsu and Gobi, as well as tools consisting of burins, scrapers, perforators, among others (Yi et al., 2016). Southern China represents a different history, as it continues to exhibit a strong association between affordance and shaping in primarily tools on pebble (Zhou, 2021). ...
People were in the Americas before, during, and immediately after the Last Glacial Maximum. Multiple data converge toward a deep chronology model for Homo genre exploration, dispersal, occupation, and settlement across the continent. South America is not an exception. This paper is an attempt to think of South America record in terms of population dynamics within a Paleolithic reflection: What are the anthropological implications of a longer and therefore slower peopling process? What modes of expansion, rhythms, adaptations, routes could be traced base especially in lithic records? What kind of archaeological manifestations should we expect in the different environments that make up an immense and highly diverse geography? What modes of technological continuity and change could be linked to these manifestations? Although further research is still needed to address these questions, our goal is to contribute to posing the problem in the most holistic way possible, linking climate, environment, and techno-cultural data within and beyond South America, in order to model how populations might have expanded and contracted at different periods throughout this subcontinent.
... However, there is a heated debate regarding the geographical and chronological origin of this technology. Different interpretations of site chronology and varying understandings of the microblade technology have led to diverse theories about the origin of this technology, with potential locations including southern Siberia, the Korean Peninsula, Northeast China, and the Hokkaido Island of Japan (Derevianko et al., 1998;Graf, 2009;Kato, 2022;Kuzmin and Keates, 2021;Yi et al., 2016;Yue et al., 2021 etc.). ...
The Dadong site, located in the Changbaishan region of Jilin province, China, is an important Upper Paleolithic site characterized by its large distribution area and abundant stone artifacts. This study presents a geoarchaeological study of a newly excavated area of this site. Soil micromorphology, particle size analysis, and pH measurements were used to reconstruct the site formation process from around 60 ka to the present. Additionally, this study examines the impact of volcanic eruptions and local geomorphology on ancient human adaptation in this area. This paper also investigates the effects of post-depositional processes, particularly freeze-thaw, on the distribution of lithics. This study is the first soil micromorphological study of a Paleolithic site in Northeast China, and is important for studying the changes of the Pleistocene environment in this region as well as the development of microblade technology in Northeast Asia.
... To date, the progress in radiocarbon dating has refreshed our understanding of lithic technology and human behavior during the Upper Paleolithic as well as the interaction among hominin groups at Shuidonggou and Jinsitai (Li et al., 2018b), for example, and the Paleolithic sites around the Songshan Mountain (Wang and Wang, 2014). A large number of radiocarbon dates have been reported from more than 300 sites, which supports new discussions of EMH evolution and migrations (Wu, 2018;Zhang et al., 2018;Gao et al., 2019), the diversity of lithic industry (Wang, 2019), the introduction and routes of spreading Levallois (Hu et al., 2019), microblade technologies (Yi et al., 2016), and the broad spectrum revolution (Janz, 2016). ...
Radiocarbon dating is a well-established chronometric technique that has been widely employed in Chinese archeology since the first radiocarbon laboratory started operating in the Institute of Archaeology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1965. In the three decades of studies that followed, achievements were made in radiocarbon dating, especially in measurement techniques, sample preparation, and the establishment of regional chronological frameworks. There is no doubt that Chinese archeology entered a golden age with the assistance of radiocarbon dating techniques at the beginning of the 2000s. It is, however, also true that compared to Western countries, China has reported far fewer radiocarbon dates than expected. This paper presents an overview of the history of the radiocarbon dating technique and its significant applications in Chinese archeology, focusing on the transition from β-decay counting to accelerator mass spectrometry. Some of the breakthroughs in studies of the Upper Paleolithic, early Homo sapiens, neolithization, and the Xia and Shang dynasties are highlighted. We conclude the paper with a brief discussion of future work and research directions that need to be explored.
... The origin of the tooth is perhaps to be found in Caucasus, Southern Siberia or Northeast Asia where similar items are found in the symbolic systems of hunter-gatherers living in these areas since the onset of the Upper Paleolithic (Derevianko and Rybin, 2003;Pitulko et al., 2012;Shunkov et al., 2020;Lbova, 2021;. Such contacts may have also favored the diffusion of microblade technology in Northern China (Keates, 2007;Kuzmin, 2007;Bae, 2010;Elston and Brantingham, 2002;Yi et al., 2016;Wang, 2018;Yue et al., 2021;Zhao et al., 2021) and participated in the intensification of the gene flow between Asian and Siberian populations during this critical period (Yang and Fu, 2018;Sikora et al., 2019). Future research combining various cultural and biological proxies may help provide a better understanding of these population dynamics and their effect on the cultural systems of Late Glacial human groups in North China. ...
Personal ornaments are key archaeological remains to investigate prehistoric symbolic systems, and, whenever hard animal remains were used for their manufacture, explore topics on the status attributed to faunal resources by past human groups. Since the onset of the Upper Paleolithic, animal tooth pendants have been widely used in Eurasia as personal adornments or grave goods. However, only two Late Paleolithic Chinese sites have yielded such adornment types until today, i.e., Zhoukoudian Upper Cave, near Beijing, and Xiaogushan, in the Liaoning Province. Here, we present results from the multidisciplinary analysis of a perforated animal tooth from QG10, a multi-stratified archaeological site located on the Ordos Plateau between the arid and sub-arid belts of Northwest China. Although only partially preserved, zooarchaeological analysis indicates the tooth is a right upper canine of a female red deer (Cervus elaphus). Scraping marks on the labial aspect suggest the tooth was extracted from the animal maxillary shortly after its death. Technological analysis of the perforation confirms it was made by rotation with the help of a lithic point hafted onto a drill. The root and occlusal aspect of the tooth were further modified with five sets of notches and incisions, including four incisions making a hashtag pattern on the occlusal aspect. Technological and morphometric analyses indicate these sets were made by two, perhaps three, individual, i.e., one left-handed and one, perhaps two right-handed, with different tools and techniques. Use wear analysis suggests that the adornment was affixed to the body with the tooth crown facing upward. Finally, chemical characterization of red and black residues still adhering to the root indicates that hematite and charcoal may have been used in the production of an adhesive that would have helped stabilize the personal ornament on the body. Collectively, our results and interpretations shed a new light on the complexity of Late Glacial symbolic system carried by populations living in Northern China. We argue this perforated red deer tooth was introduced in the site following a number of social exchanges over long distance and a long period of time rather than produced in situ.
... A recent zooarchaeological study by excavation on site '151' in Qinghai has provided an example of high mobility and short occupation [45]. Stone tools are described as microblades, a technology that was widespread in lowland North China after the LGM [46]. For this period, we note that sites cluster in the northeast margin of the TP ( Figure 1) but whether this pattern represents a behavioral, preservation, or visibility bias is unclear. ...
Recent archaeological discoveries suggest that both archaic Denisovans and Homo sapiens occupied the Tibetan Plateau earlier than expected. Genetic studies show that a pulse of Denisovan introgression was involved in the adaptation of Tibetan populations to high-altitude hypoxia. These findings challenge the traditional view that the plateau was one of the last places on earth colonized by H. sapiens and warrant a reappraisal of the population history of this highland. Here, we integrate archaeological and genomic evidence relevant to human dispersal, settlement, and adaptation in the region. We propose two testable models to address the peopling of the plateau in the broader context of H. sapiens dispersal and their encounters with Denisovans in Asia.
... The Nwya Devu Site revealed that humans bearing non-microlithic prismatic blade core technology occupied the Changtang Plateau 40-30 ka BP (Zhang et al., 2018). The relationships between prismatic blade core and microblade core technology are close but debatable (Yi et al., 2016;Wang, 2018). Additional discoveries and detailed analyses addressing this and related questions are required to further resolve the nature, timing and dynamics of these relationships. ...
The Tibetan Plateau is one of the last areas populated by modern humans because of its harsh environment. Due to the paucity of reliably dated archaeological sites, the history of the peopling of Tibet is unclear. However, more than 110 microblade sites discovered on the Plateau indicate large-scale migration. This paper reviews microblade assemblages in seven geographical regions in terms of the specific techno-typologies, and divides them into three types. Based upon results obtained from 17 archaeological sites and techno-typological comparisons, we argue that microblade sites on the Plateau fall within three periods, 14-10 ka BP, 8-7 ka BP and 5-3 ka BP. The techno-typology of sites in the first period is still unclear. Assemblages are dominated by flake blank exploitation cores represented by wedge-shaped nuclei during the second period. Conical microblade cores and pottery coexisted during the latest period. A combination of chronology, techno-typology and the locations of microblade sites discovered on and around the Tibetan Plateau supports the conclusion that people bearing microblade technology originating in North China migrated to the Plateau via a northern route.
... Although the extent to which this integrated laminar technology was spread across northeastern Asia is yet unknown, "wedge-like microcores" (Terry, Buvit, & Konstantinov, 2016, p. 93) were also identified in the LGM in the Transbaikal of southern Siberia (see also Yi, Gao, Li, & Chen, 2016). Even though there seems to be a behavioral parallel behind the emergence of wedgeshaped morphology and "microcores" between Hokkaido and eastern Siberia, we need to discern the underlying processes of this morphological similarity, as explained by rapid diffusion (e.g. ...
Although microliths are regarded as small standardized tools for complex composite technology, it is still not fully understood whether this schematic understanding developed in Old World prehistory can apply to the Late Pleistocene microblades in northeastern Asia. Here, referring to the definition of the Old World microliths, we explore the morphometric traits of the Late Pleistocene microblades in northeast Asia through an examination of the laminar blank production technology from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) microblade assemblage recovered from the Kashiwadai 1 site in Hokkaido, northern Japan. Metric and nonmetric data obtained from numerous laminar blanks reveal that microblades are comparable to bladelets without backing, as defined in the Old World records. The core reduction sequence reconstructed from the refitted specimen reveals that microblades are produced from blade core gradually reduced by careful core preparations, best labeled as the integrated laminar technology conceptually related to post-LGM bifacial microblade core technologies.
... An increase in temperature and precipitation (Yu and Kelts, 2002;Colman et al., 2007), turnover of vegetation from desert steppe to alpine meadow/subalpine shrub (Shen et al., 2005), and recovery of animal population on the Tibetan Plateau created more food resources and space for huntergatherers. At the same time, microlithic technology, which is generally considered to be closely related to highly mobile hunting activities in harsh environments, started to become more common in North China along with other effective tools for safer hunting of large animals, complex hide garment manufacturing, and sewing (Yi et al., 2016). Therefore, microlithic tools are very helpful for humans dealing with unfavorable high-altitude environments, such as the relative shortage of food resources and big temperature variations during the day, by increasing hunting success and clothes manufacturing. ...
The study of prehistoric hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the mechanisms and processes of human adaption to high altitude environments. But to date, only a few Paleolithic sites have been found on the Tibetan Plateau with clear stratigraphy and reliable dating. These sites are mainly distributed in the Qinghai Lake Basin on the northeastern part of the plateau, and the sporadic fauna and flora remains excavated provide limited information about the subsistence strategies of hunter-gatherers. In 2014, relatively abundant animal remains were unearthed in the Lower Cultural Layer (LCL, 15400–13100 cal yr BP) of the “151 site” located in the Qinghai Lake Basin, providing important information about human subsistence strategies on the Tibetan Plateau during the Last Deglaciation. Zooarchaeological analysis of these faunal remains indicates that hunter-gatherers at the “151 site” mainly targeted large ungulates of Bos and wild horse/ass, and only brought back the most nutritious parts of animal carcasses including upper and intermediate limb bones, heads, and trunks (ribs and vertebrae). People then processed and consumed the carcasses around single hearths. Our comprehensive analyses of contemporaneous sites in the Qinghai Lake Basin show that a subsistence strategy involving opportunistic hunting of ungulates, high mobility, and short occupation of campsites was used by terminal Pleistocene hunter-gatherers to adapt to the high-altitude environment on the Tibetan Plateau. This subsistence strategy may have been a first step of gradual hunter-gatherer adaptation to the extreme conditions on the Tibetan Plateau after the Last Glacial Maximum, and laid the foundation for the widespread distribution of hunter-gatherers on the plateau during the Holocene.
... At least one of these centers (most probably, Korea) may be responsible for the appearance of microblade technology in North China. This is supported by the non-existence of blades in North China before the emergence of microblades 107 . The proposed early presence of blade technology at the Shuidonggou 1 and 2 sites at ca. 36,300-29,800 BP 108 requires further chronological research because the current evidence for this age is questionable 109 . ...
... During the Deglacial period (roughly 16,000-8000 cal. BP), the global climate changed rapidly and frequently, and diverse technological complexes evolved in North China including micro-blades, grinding tools, and ceramics (Elston and Brantingham 2002;Barton et al. 2007;Yi et al. 2013Yi et al. , 2015. These three technologies were thought to signal subsistence Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s12520-019-00852-1) ...
Archeological evidence of intensive human foraging behavior during the Deglacial period (ca. 16,000–8000 cal. BP) from the perspectives of artifact manufacturing technologies and the use of plant resources has been widely reported in China. However, the zooarchaeological perspective has contributed less, especially with respect to animal remains from open-air sites in North China. In this paper, we present taphonomic and zooarchaeological data from layers 3 and 4 at the Yujiagou site regarding the formation processes of faunal assemblages as well as the hunting, processing, and consumption behaviors of the site’s occupants. These data enable the reconstruction of how animal resources were obtained, illuminating the lifestyles of hunter-gatherers who used a micro-blade technology in North China. Results indicate that the Yujiagou hunters preferred juvenile gazelles and horses, and that bone marrow was a significant source of energy for humans. Taking into account climate changes that occurred during the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene, we hypothesize that exploitation of animal resources intensified at this time. This pattern differs from that of the broad-spectrum diet exploitation widely reported in Europe and Southwest Asia.
... Outside the Nihewan Basin, microblade sites as old as the Youfang locality are rare and reflect various technological modes and lower levels of standardization. The Longwangchan site (27-25 cal ka BP; Zhang et al., 2011), Shizitan S29 (26 cal ka BP for the lowermost microblade layer; Song et al., 2017), and the Xishi site remains with radiocarbon dates older than 20 ka BP, i.e., Shiyu and Xiachuan in Shanxi Province, their stratigraphic integrity, the materials dated, and even the lithic assemblages themselves have been called into question (e.g., An, 1983;Yi et al., 2016;Song et al., 2017). ...
Here, we discuss the earliest microblade sites in China and the development of microblade technology in greater Northeast Asia. The Xishahe site was discovered in Huliu River terrace deposits in the Nihewan Basin, North China. Chronometric dating indicates the site was first occupied ca. 29–28 ka cal BP, while the microblade remains date to about 27 ka cal BP. Xishahe has yielded some of the earliest radiocarbon dated microblade technology in China, and evidence suggests that its appearance and disappearance are positively correlated with climate change. The microblade technology identified at Xishahe is different from other, younger microblade sites in China, specifically those associated with the mature wedge-shaped core technique. Further, although the Xishahe microblade cores are well-shaped with platform preparation and could successfully produce parallel-sided flakes, the overall morphology of these cores was highly variable and lacked standardization. Obvious technological differences can be seen in microblade assemblages dating to periods before and after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; ca. 24–18 ka cal BP).
... Shizitan 29 is not the only site representing this change, but other sites in North China of possibly similar date, such as Longwangchan [2][3], remain insufficiently reported, particularly from a technological perspective, and lack reliable dating. The large-area excavations and deeply stratified, systematically dated layers at Shizitan 29 also provide unique opportunities to investigate diachronic change in behavioral patterns related to lithic production, which we do in a combined approach featuring raw material exploitation and reduction sequence reconstructions. ...
The lithic assemblage from Shizitan 29, a late Upper Paleolithic open-air site in Shanxi, China, provides evidence for the earliest, well-dated microblade production in East Asia, ca. 26/24 Ka cal BP. To pursue a behavioral rather than traditional typological understanding of this key adaptive technology, we apply a techno-functional approach that enables us to reconstruct the entire operational sequence in behavioral terms through the derivation of technical objectives. This methodology can serve as a model to be applied to other assemblages for greater understanding of the origins and spread of the broadly distributed eastern Asian Late Pleistocene microblade industries. Within the eight cultural layers at Shizitan 29, microblade production abruptly appears at the top of Layer 7 following earlier core-and-flake production, supporting hypotheses of microblade technology arising within adaptive strategies to worsening Late Glacial Maximum environments. Significantly, reconstruction of the operational sequence supports microblade technology being introduced into the North China Loess Plateau from regions further north. It also allows us to re-think microblades' relationship in behavioral terms with earlier limited examples of East Asian blade production and the evolution and spread of microblade technology, providing new insights into the adaptive relationships between subsequent microblade productions.
... Langlais et al., 2012;Wygal and Heidenreich, 2014;Fontes et al., 2016;Naudinot et al., 2017). With respect to East and Northeast Asia, a series of studies have also started to take a combined approach based on comparison between lithic technology and local environment (Elston et al., 2011;Morisaki and Sato, 2014;Tsydenova and Piezonka, 2015;Otsuka, 2016;Yi et al., 2016;Morisaki et al., 2018). Especially in Japanese archipelago, abundant archaeological data were accumulated and showed clear signatures occurred during the period, including the changes in mobility pattern and subsistence strategies, the emergence of new lithic tool types and the development of human behavioral diversity (Izuho and Sato, 2008;Sato et al., 2011;Morisaki and Sato, 2014;Morisaki et al., 2015Morisaki et al., , 2018Otsuka, 2016). ...
Late Pleistocene witnessed significant changes in lithic technological behaviors, mobility patterns and subsistence strategies in northeastern Eurasia, which are also correlated with paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental changes. Integrating artifact analysis and paleoenvironmental evidence, Taoshan, a newly excavated archaeological site, provides a crucial case study for evaluating human adaptation in Northeast China. Taoshan site was excavated in 2013–2014, uncovering three prehistoric layers and abundant remains. Here we present the results of a systematic techno-typological analysis of the Late Pleistocene assemblages of the site, and place special emphasis on diachronic cultural developments and underlying dynamics.
... MIS 3 was a special mild interval during the last glacial period. Due to an intensified summer monsoon and a weakened winter monsoon, temperate and humid climatic conditions in this interval were recorded (Chen et al., 2004;Chen and Wu, 2008 Barton et al., 2007;Gao et al., 2013;Yi et al., 2016). Comparatively, the number of sites dated to the early stage of MIS 3 (roughly from 60 to 35 ka, including MIS 3c, 3b and early 3a) in North China was limited for a very long time, chiefly because of the limitation of dating methods, and consequently, we could hardly discuss cultural evolution and human dispersal before the LP. ...
The Huangniliang site, located in the coastal province of Shandong, in North China, was excavated in 2013. Optically stimulated luminescence results show that the age of the deposits ranges from 59 to 54 ka, corresponding to the initial part of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. This study introduces the detailed analyses of the stone artefacts from the site, and provides a review of the major Paleolithic sites dated to early MIS 3 in North China. Analyses of the Huangniliang lithic assemblage show that the principal flaking technique was direct hard-hammer percussion, but core preparations and systematic percussion are also present. A series of assemblages in North China show a diversified scenario before the Late Paleolithic (LP). Dominated by the simple flake-core tradition, lithic industries in northern China dated to 35–60 ka occasionally include a Mousterian-like industry, a macroblade technology, Acheulian-type large cutting tools, systematic percussion and diversified toolkits. Lithic technological organization expressed by systematic percussion and incipient organization on the land-use expressed by the organized acquisition of raw materials during early MIS 3 are indicators of behavioral complexity.
... The SDG12 lithic assemblage, comprising more than 9000 pieces, is typical of the Late Pleistocene microlithic industries found in China (Gao et al., 2009;Pei et al., 2012;Yi et al., 2013Yi et al., , 2016 adjacent regions from Central Asia to Alaska (Goebel, 2002;Brunet, 2012;Gómez Coutouly, 2012;Tabarev, 2012;Takakura, 2012;Kato, 2014). It is dominated by microblade cores and highly standardized microblades, which were likely obtained by pressure flaking (Pelegrin, 2012), but also includes end-scrapers, notches, points, borers, and burins Yi et al., 2013). ...
... We do not believe that the adoption of the new Mode C strategy of hafting in the late Pleistocene is indicative of a major cognitive shift. Rather, as many researchers have argued, it is likely to represent an adaptation to changes in mobility and organization of subsistence labor associated with the specific environmental and demographic conditions of MIS 2 ( Barton et al., 2007;Elston and Brantingham, 2002;Goebel, 1999;Yi et al., 2013Yi et al., , 2016. ...
Blades in the Initial Upper Paleolithic assemblages from Shuidonggou, Locality 1 (SDG1) are frequently fragmented. Complete blades are rare and proximal, medial and distal blade segments are abundant in the collections from various excavation campaigns at the site. Using a large sample of artifacts from 1963 excavations at the SDG 1 site, this paper evaluates the hypothesis that blades were intentionally broken into regular sections, perhaps to facilitate their insertion into armatures of composite tools. The scarcity of traces of percussion and hafting-related modification, and the non-standardized lengths of segments do not suggest intentional human intervention in sectioning the blades. Instead, the strong correlation between segment length and a measure of blade strength suggests that most if not all blade sections resulted from accidental breakage.
... Toward the end of the LGM, humans using an LUP adaptive strategy based on standardized formal lithic technology, specialized hunting, and high residential mobility arrived in Siberia from the east, where microblades emerged first during the LGM in Hokkaido (Izuho 2013) but perhaps were conceptually conceived from MUP small blade and flake technologies that were present in Siberia, northern China, and Korea just before the LGM (Derevianko et al. 2003;Lee 2015;Lisitsyn 2000;Seong 2011;Terry, Buvit, and Konstantinov 2016;Yi et al. 2016). Although so-called microlithic technology has been found in these places at the onset of the LGM, conceptual techniques and cognitive, technological steps used to make these small blades and flakes are different from techniques and steps to produce Yubetsu and other wedge-shaped microblade core types found in LGM and late-glacial contexts associated with the LUP (Gómez Coutouly 2012; Graf 2008Graf , 2010Kobayashi 1970;Nakazawa et al. 2005;Takakura 2012;Terry, Buvit, and Konstantinov 2016;Yoshizaki 1961). ...
With genetic studies showing unquestionable Asian origins of the first Americans, the Siberian and Beringian archaeological records are absolutely critical for understanding the initial dispersal of modern humans in the Western Hemisphere. The genetics-based Beringian Standstill Model posits a three-stage dispersal process and necessitates several expectations of the archaeological record of northeastern Asia. Here we present an overview of the Siberian and Beringian Upper Paleolithic records and discuss them in the context of a Beringian Standstill. We report that not every expectation of the model is met with archaeological data at hand.
... The origin of the microblade technology in North China has been the subject of considerable debate over the past few decades, as summarized in the reviews by Zhu (2006, pp. 130-135) and Yi et al. (2016). There are two general hypotheses: this technology emerged in situ from the local small-tool tradition (e.g. ...
It has been suggested that the ‘small-tool’ and microblade Upper Palaeolithic industries coexisted in
the Nihewan Basin of northern China for about 8–14 000 years during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. This inference was based on uranium-series ages of around 15 and 18 ka for bovid teeth recovered from the ‘latest’ small-tool site of Xibaimaying – the youngest occurrence of such tools in the region – and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the earliest typical microblade site (Youfang: ~26–29 ka). In this study, we re-dated the Xibaimaying site using single-grain OSL methods and the resulting ages indicate that the cultural layer was deposited 46± 3 ka ago, during MIS 3 – more than 20 millennia earlier than previously thought and older also than the so-called earliest ‘primitive’ and typical microblade tools found at Zhiyu (~31–39 ka cal BP) and Youfang. These new ages for human occupation of Xibaimaying remove support for the parallel development of the small-tool and microblade industries in the Nihewan Basin during the Upper Palaeolithic, but reliable age estimates from additional sites are needed to confidently infer the nature of the chronological relationship between these two Upper Palaeolithic industries and the associated toolmakers.
... Owing to its unique and standardized techno-morphological traits, wedge-shaped microblade cores have been regarded as the material signature of human adaptation across the northern latitudes (>40 N), namely regions of the northern Pacific Rim consisting of northeastern Asia (i.e., Siberia, Mongolia, China, Korea, and Japan) and northern North America (i.e., Alaska and Pacific coast of Canada) during the Late Glacial and initial Holocene (e.g., Nelson,1937;Müller-Beck, 1967;Smith, 1974;Yi and Clark, 1985;Cheng and Wang, 1989;Ackerman, 1992;West, 1996;Kuzmin and Orlova, 1998;Dixon, 1999;Goebel, 1999;Hamilton and Goebel, 1999;Bever, 2001;Yesner and Pearson, 2002;Hoffecker and Elias, 2007;Doelman, 2008;Goebel et al., 2008;Kajiwara, 2008;Wang et al., 2009;Bae, 2010;Graf, 2010;Buvit and Terry, 2011;Elston et al., 2011;Bae and Bae, 2012;Lee, 2012;Kato, 2014;Nian et al., 2014;Wang and Qu, 2014;Wang et al., 2015;Yi et al., 2014Yi et al., , 2015. A battery of analytical studies on microblade assemblages particularly from the Japanese late Upper Paleolithic sites have revealed that wedge-shaped microblade cores are shaped by a series of standardized reductive processes, suggesting that Late Glacial hunter-gatherers designed complex core technology to produce highly standardized microblades (e.g., Yoshizaki, 1961;Morlan, 1967;Kobayashi, 1970;Tsurumaru, 1979;Fujimoto, 1982;Bleed, 1996Bleed, , 2002aKimura and Girya, 2016). ...
The wedge-shaped microblade core technology found along the northern Pacific Rim has been regarded as a trait of hunter-gatherer adaptation during the Late Glacial and initial Holocene. Having recognized variable microblade core reduction methods among the technocomplexes in Hokkaido, by employing an optimization model in lithic technology, the present paper addresses the question of what role bifacial microblade core technologies played in foraging, through a comparative analysis of utility, cost of transportation, and failure rates between the larger (“Sakkotsu”) and smaller (“Oshorokko”) bifacial microblade core technologies in the Late Glacial Hokkaido. Results suggest that as opposed to the larger bifacial microblade core technology, the smaller bifacial microblade core technology was more effective for exploring unpredictable environment across the northern Pacific Rim.
... During the late Upper Paleolithic (ca. 23e12 ka), many sites with microblade industries were distributed across northeastern China and the North China Plain (Li and Ma, 2016;Yi et al., 2016). Based on the composition of lithic raw materials (LRMs) and the site distributions of those microblade industries, this study attempts to estimate the territories or migration areas of human groups. ...
During the Upper Paleolithic, many sites with microblade industries were distributed across northeastern China and the North China Plain in eastern China. Based on the composition of lithic raw materials (LRMs) and the site distributions of microblade industries, this study defined five territories of human groups in two regions of China: 1) the western Changbai Shan Mountains (Mount Paektu) and Song-Nen Plain in northeastern China and 2) the southern Yanshan Mountains, Yi-Shu River Basin, and western Huang-Huai Plain in the North China Plain. In northeastern China, high-quality LRMs, including various types of igneous rock and obsidian, were used in combination with local LRMs such as flint and agate. Based on the distribution range of high-quality LRMs, the territories of human groups in that region are estimated at 300–450 km. It is believed that residential systems were established for the long-distance transport of LRMs and the long-distance movement of human groups. One such system included microblade technology based on biface and flake-blade reduction systems. In contrast, the territory of human groups in the North China Plain was small, with an area estimated at 100–230 km. Given the numerous small sites in that region, it is believed that human groups moved frequently within their territories because they were highly mobile and dependent on local LRM sources (e.g., flint) near their occupation sites. Human groups might have employed various microcore reduction systems to produce microblades, even from limited LRMs. Preliminary conclusions suggest that the divergent activities of late Upper Paleolithic human groups in eastern China could reflect variations in regional economic strategies and ecological environments between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas.
Paleolithic sites in the Russian Primorye appeared not earlier than 18,000 cal. BP. In the territories to the south and southwest, there are a large number of sites with microblade industries dating back to the time before the beginning of LGM. The largest number of dated sites falls at the beginning of LGM (24,000-20,000 cal. BP). Researchers suggest that after 20,000 and up to 15,000 cal. BP, due to the changes in climate, there was an outflow of population from the Korean Peninsula and from northeast China. In Korea, the most prominent representatives of the post-glacial lithic industries are the Hopyeong-dong, Hahwagye-ri, Songdu-ri, and Gigok sites, in northeast China—Datong and Yuafang. The industrial complexes of these sites are characterized by wedge-shaped microcores, end scrapers, burins, punctures, drills, leaf-shaped bifaces, arrowheads, and retouched microblades. In the Russian Primorye, the closest parallels to these complexes are found in the collections of the Ustinovka group of sites. The materials of the early sites, Suvorovo 4, Ustinovka 5, 7 (18,000-16,000 cal. BP) demonstrate direct parallels with the industries of the Hopeyong-dong and Hahwagye-ri sites (25,000-19,000 cal. BP). Later Paleolithic complexes, Suvorovo 3, Ustinovka 6, Ilistaya 1, and Gorbatka 3, are similar to the industries of the Korean Songduri and Gigok sites, and the Chinese Datong and Yuafang sites. Due to the cold period, mobility of ancient man increases rapidly, he actively began to develop coastal areas freed from the sea. Along the coastal strip, there were migrations to the neighboring territories of the Russian Primorye. This process was repeated and was active in both directions.
В монографии представлены материалы, отражающие процесс формирования неолита и земледелия в Китае. В первой главе рассматриваются особенности эпохи, переходной от палеолита к неолиту, много внимания уделено проблемам, связанным с установлением хронологии древнейшей керамики Китая. В главе, посвященной раннему неолиту, дается обзор раннеземледельческих культур Китая, их жилищ, поселений, погребальных и иных обрядов, керамической посуды
и прочего инвентаря. В отдельной главе подробно рассматриваются обстоятельства и особенности формирования земледелия в Китае, анализируются текущие источники, а также сложившиеся подходы к их пониманию и интерпретации. Наконец, в последней главе разбираются возможные связи раннеземледельческих культур Китая с ранними земледельцами Западной Евразии и культурой дземон Японских островов.
The origin of microblade technology (MT) is a hot issue in Paleolithic archaeology of China. Although there is a significant increase in discoveries and research about MT, the theoretical basis has not been fully explored yet. This work reexamined the fundamental concepts related to MT, clarified the assumptions about the studies on the origin of MT, and analyzed the innate problems in them. It suggests that the explanation from diffusionism cannot sufficiently answer the question the origin of MT. Meanwhile, the emergence of MT does not equate with the origins of technological factors that compose of MT, since these factors could have appeared in different periods and areas. Furthermore, we cannot separate the emergence of MT from the discussion of the general mechanism in the changes of lithic technologies. Finally, we should be aware of the unavoidable restrain from paradigm in which researchers situate themselves. In the future we should be clear on the limit of paradigm and the assumptions on which research is made, and expand the boundary of our exploration.
Yue et al. (2021) have proposed a model of two Upper Palaeolithic assemblages in Northeast China called the “Initial Microblade Industry” and the “Northern Microblade Industry”, with the latter originating from the former, and its spread to the neighbouring regions of Northeast Asia. We have found several inconsistencies in their factual data and methodology, and therefore the conclusions reached by Yue et al. (2021) cannot be accepted at face value. Using the most reliable evidence, the oldest true microblade assemblages are known from the Korean Peninsula. We suggest that this region is the more probable center of diffusion of microblade technology in mainland Northeast Asia, including China and the Russian Far East.
Scholars have long debated when the Neolithic began in China. Neolithisation, however, is a process rather than an event. It is more realistic to investigate the timing and nature of the socio-economic trajectory from mobile, microblade-using foragers to sedentary communities during the Palaeolithic-Neolithic transition in northern China. Here, the authors use artefacts from Shuidonggou locality 12 to demonstrate the socio-economic organisation of the site's inhabitants. They identify long-term site occupation by a large group exhibiting high levels of individual mobility. Comparative analyses with contemporaneous data indicate that the early stages of complex social organisation - a fundamental element of Neolithisation - emerged among microblade-using groups. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd..
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) has become a valuable site for investigation of adaptive regimes of prehistoric humans to extreme environments. At present most studies have focused solely on a single site. Using a more integrated approach that covers the complete scope of the plateau is needed to better understand the expansion logic of prehistoric humans moving towards the plateau. Here, we conducted accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating of two microlithic sites. Canxiongashuo (CXGS) and Shalongka (SLK), which are located at the inner and marginal areas of the QTP, respectively. By using geographic information system, literature, and natural environmental factors, we constructed a model for the relationship between traveling distance and time, and we also used these factors to construct a plateau environmental index. The results indicated that the ages of the CXGS and SLK sites are 8.4–7.5 cal. ka BP and 8.4–6.2 cal. ka BP, respectively. Combining the archaeological evidence and literature, hunter-gatherers may have seasonal migration activities at low altitude in winter and high altitude in summer in order to make full use of natural resources. Our model of relationship between traveling distance and time shows that hunter-gatherers in CXGS site was active on the plateau all year-round at approximately 8.3 cal. ka BP. According to EI and archaeological remains, we propose that SLK site was a winter camp of prehistoric hunter-gatherers. Taken together, we determined 8.4–6.0 cal. ka BP as a transitional period from the Paleolithic to Neolithic Ages, and winter camps of hunter-gatherers evolved into settlements in the Neolithic Age.
This paper proposes a demographic history of China in the last glacial cycle. This history is complex because China lies in both the Palearctic and Oriental biographic realms, and experienced several immigration events before H. sapiens. Immigration by our species into the Oriental Realm of south China from southeast Asia probably began as early as 80,000 years ago. North China has a different history: here, humans immigrated from Mongolia and southern Siberia ca. 45,000 years ago as part of a cold-adapted Palearctic fauna. These populations were largely independent of one another, and each needs to be seen as part of their respective biogeographic realms. The subsequent demographic history of China is one of mixing and inter-breeding of populations from both north and south China. In the LGM, north China (and Mongolia) were largely depopulated, and subsequent recolonization of north China occurred from both the north and the south. Explanations of the demographic history of China have to include developments beyond its borders, immigration, assimilation of new populations, and continuity of local groups.
Scholars have long recognized the importance of organic artifacts to an improved understanding of the economic and social behavior of Palaeolithic hominins. However, in contrast to archaeological studies in other parts of the world, osseous industries from China have received only limited attention. As one of the first steps aiming at tipping this balance, the current paper examines, therefore, a shaped boar tusk—one particular element of hunter-gatherers’ tool kit at Shuidonggou Locality 12 (SDG12). Morphological and metrical comparisons of the tusk with both paleontological specimens and bone artifacts from the same site demonstrate that wear pattern on one of the dentin surfaces of the tooth is not significant different from occlusal attritions in living animals, while linear striations on the other dentin facet are most probably artificial grinding marks formed by prehistoric toolmakers in attempts to manufacture a scraper. The tusk specimen from SDG12 represents the first evidence of a ground tooth in Upper Palaeolithic China. The current study indicates that hominins in Shuidonggou area had achieved a deepened understanding of physical properties of osseous material available in environs and ultimately broadened their range of raw material selection by adding a particular element to the inventory of subsistence tools.
This data includes:
1) A complete technological description of the needles assemblage from Shuidonggou Locality 12 (SDG12) and the associated manufacturing by-products;
2) A detailed description of the lithic and faunal remains found at SDG12; and
3) A database of Eurasian and North American Pleistocene sites that have yielded bone needles.
Swan Point in central Alaska contains the oldest recognized human occupation in Alaska (Cultural Zone 4b [CZ4b]), dating to circa 14,000 cal BP. This component consists of a microblade and burin industry with clear technological ties to the Siberian Upper Paleolithic Diuktai Culture. Through the systematic use of the Yubetsu method for the production of microblades, Swan Point is technologically more similar to Siberian microblade sites than to later-age (Denali complex) microblade sites in Alaska. The Yubetsu method is the hallmark of the Diuktai Culture, and in Alaska, Swan Point CZ4b is the only component with systematic production of microblades using the Yubetsu method. Other late Pleistocene and Holocene microblade sites in Alaska have an industry based on Campus-style, conical, or tabular microblade cores. Analysis of the collection furthers our understanding of how CZ4b relates to previous Siberian Diuktai-related assemblages and to later Alaskan Denali-related sites. We interpret the CZ4b component as representing a brief single event that has major cultural and technological implications for the early colonization process of North America.
This article is a critical review of published data from the earliest evidence of pressure knapped microblade technology from various regions in Northeast Asia (Siberia, Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan, Sakhalin, and Russian Far East), including discussions not only on published dates, but also on published artifacts (drawings and photos) relating to these assemblages. The issue concerning the geographical and chronological origin of microblade technology in Northeast Asia remains a widely debated concern, not only as new data emerge, but also due to researchers having different definitions of the term “microblade” and “microblade core”. In this case, by microblade technology, I refer to the systematic production of microblades using the pressure knapping technique. I therefore review the data in light of this defining feature and conclude that, based on the present state of research, pressure knapping microblade technology probably emerged in the Far East (China, Korea, or Japan) around 30,000–25,000 cal BP, in spite of most authors considering that microblade technology emerged in southern Siberia 40,000–35,000 years ago. In the discussion section, I argue about the potential role of obsidian in the emergence of pressure knapped microblade technology.
This paper presents new accelerator (AMS) 14C age estimates for the site of Studenoe-2, located in the Transbaikal, southeast Siberia (54°4'N, 108°13'E). Dated samples were collected from clearly defined hearths and living floors, and were unequivocally associated with wedge-shaped core and microblade industries. Resulting age estimates suggest that late Upper Palaeolithic microblade technology emerged in the Transbaikal immediately after the last glacial maximum, as early as 17,800 years ago (BP). On this basis we argue that the Studenoe-2 materials are among the earliest unequivocally dated microblade assemblages in northeast Asia.
The nature of hunter-gatherer mobility strategies--the way in which hunter-gatherers move about a landscape over the course of a year--is discussed, using ethnographic data. Several mobility variables that measure residential and logistical mobility are defined; several environmental variables which measure resource accessibility and resource monitoring costs are also defined. Ethnographic data are used to demonstrate patterning between the nature of mobility strategies and the resource structure of an environment. The data show that the extent to which a group of hunter-gatherers emphasizes residential or logistical mobility is closely related to the structure of resources in their environment.
Addresses the need for theoretical approaches to the study of prehistoric stone tools. Time stress is a major factor determining variations in technological behaviour among hunter-gatherers. Two effects of time budgeting are discussed. Predictions for the composition, diversity and complexity of tool-kits are illustrated by an analysis of tools used in the procurement of food. Although further work is needed before the ideas presented here can be implemented in the study of archaeological material, this preliminary attempt at theory building demonstrates that future research must account for the role of time in shaping prehistoric hunter-gatherer assemblages. -from Author
This article reports on materials excavated and analyzed since 2008 at the multi-component open-air Tolbor-15 Site (Selenge River basin, northern Mongolia). Also discussed are problems of chronology and periodization of the Mongolian Upper Paleolithic based on radiocarbon dating, including new determinations available for the Tolbor-4 and 15 sites, along with associated archaeological materials. The early stage of the Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) in Mongolia persisted for a relatively long period and can be divided into two sub-chrons, the earliest ranging from 40 to 35,000 BP. The later stage of the Mongolian EUP, falling between 33 and 26,000 BP, is represented by assemblages from the Khangai Mountains (e.g., Tolbor-4 and 15, Orkhon-7) and the Gobi Altai district (e.g., Tsagaan Agui Cave, Chikhen Agui Rockshelter, Chikhen-2). The middle Upper Paleolithic in Mongolia has been identified only on the basis of sites in the Orkhon River valley, all of which post-date ca. 25,000 BP. The material culture of this long period is characterized by the complete replacement of blade industries by flake industries, along with the parallel development of the pressure-flaked microblade technique. The later phase of the Mongolian Upper Paleolithic is well-dated down to the end of the Pleistocene. Typical industries include those excavated at Tolbor-15, which are characterized by the predominance of microcores reduced by both pressure and percussion, the appearance of retouched points on flakes, and an increase in the number of microblades as a fraction of overall blade blanks.
This paper summarizes the results of a pilot study of the ethnographic and ethnohistorical literature designed to address certain questions concerning the use of stone projectile tips. The term “tip” as employed herein includes not just formal “points” in a descriptive sense, but any projectile weaponry armed with a stone component as tip and/or cutting edge. Variability in such projectile tips has long been used to arrange archaeological assemblages in time and space and there have been several attempts in recent years to explain this variability in terms of factors such as changing hunting strategies (e. g., Chris-tenson 1986, 1987; Friis-Hansen 1990; Judge 1974; Odell and Cowan 1986; Shott 1989, 1993). While the present study will shed some light on the causes of stone point variability, I am concerned primarily here with the more basic question of why stone tips should be used at all as opposed to similar items made on organic materials such as wood, bone, or antler. This question has long been recognized as being of importance (e. g., Hayden 1978:183; Jelinek 1971:19), but has rarely been addressed. At a minimum, a knowledge of these conditions should be useful in two major ways.
Based on archaeological materials recovered from stratified sites in the Khangai Mountains and the Gobi Altai regions and new radiocarbon dates for the Tolbor-4 and 15 localities, a tripartite chronological subdivision of the Mongolian Upper Paleolithic is suggested. The first period is the Early Upper Paleolithic (40–26 ka BP). Sites dating to this period have been discovered both in the Khangai and the Gobi Altai regions. The second period began around 25 ka BP, but its terminal date is unknown. Sites of this period are located in the Orkhon Valley. The third period is co-terminus with the end of the Upper Paleolithic and is represented by Horizons 3 and 4 at the Tolbor-15 locality in the middle Selenge Valley.
The Longwangchan Paleolithic site, situated on the Yellow River terraces in the Hukou area, Shaanxi province, China, was found in 2003–2004, and two areas (Localities 1 and 2) of the site were excavated in 2005–2008. Abundant stone artifacts including microliths, a grinding stone fragment and a shovel, with some animal bones and shells, were recovered from Locality 1. In this study, the cultural deposits from Locality 1 were dated using radiocarbon and optical dating techniques, and the sediment properties of the deposits were analyzed. The results show that the age of the deposits ranges from 29 to 21 ka and most of them were deposited between 25 ka and 29 ka. This indicates that corresponds to late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and early MIS 2. During the human occupation period, the climate in this area became colder and drier. Sediments from beds where the grinding slab and the shovel were found were dated to ∼25 ka, which is the oldest among the grinding stones found in China. The microliths and the grinding stone are important evidence for an incipient socio-economic process that eventually led to the regional transition from hunting-foraging to farming.
The chronology and affinities of the "Dyuktai culture," an Upper Paleolithic assemblage from northeastern Siberia, are discussed. Geoarchaeological and chronometric data suggest that Dyuktai assemblages are no older than the middle part of the early Sartan Glacial (ca. 18,000 B.P.) and are substantially younger than claimed in the Russian literature. Since Dyuktai assemblages have been argued to resemble those of the New World Paleo-Arctic tradition, the reassessment of the age of the assemblage affects ideas about the processes and timing involved in the peopling of the Americas.
The Altai Mountains in southern Siberia are one of the prime regions for archaeological investigation in Russia. We present data on the environmental, chronological and technological evidence recorded from major Pleistocene sites in the Altai. These show that hominid populations in this region lived in both forested and open environments, particularly in the Late Pleistocene, and used mainly Mousterian and Upper Palaeolithic technologies for manufacturing stone tools. The Palaeolithic archaeology of the Altai is important for increasing our knowledge of Pleistocene human adaptations in Eurasia, including the issue of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition, the dynamics of human adaptation to higher elevations, and deciphering what significance the Altai may have had in regional Asian hominid dispersal.
Microblade technology was important in hunter-gatherer adaptations throughout northern Asia from the late Pleistocene through the Pleistocene/Holocene transition and beyond. To date, most studies from the re- gion are concerned with origins, technological lineages, and culture history. In contrast, we direct attention to issues involving the role of microlithic technology in adaptive strategies and problem solution among north Asian hunter-gatherers by looking at artifact design and risk analysis. First we discuss the function of Asian microblades and outline the general costs and benefits of organic points with microblade insets over simple organic points and flaked stone points, as well as the relative advantages of wedge-shaped and split-pebble microcores in terms of the Z-score model. We conclude with a review of the role of microlithic technology as a risk-minimizing strategy of Arctic and sub-Arctic large-game hunters in northern Asia and suggest further lines of inquiry.
A detailed stable-isotope record is presented for the full length of the Greenland Ice-core Project Summit ice core covering the last 250,000 years according to a graduated timescale. It appears that the climatic stability of the Holocene is the exception rather than the rule; the last interglacial is also noted to have lasted longer than is implied by the deep-sea SPECMAP record. This discrepancy may be accounted for if the climate instability at the outset of the last interglacial delayed the melting of the Saalean ice sheets in America and Eurasia.
Microblade industries of North China have been studied in detail only during the past 30 yr, although they were known since the early decades of this century. Two important sites, Xiachuan (24 000-14 000 BP) and Xueguan (13 550 BP), are described here as well as artifacts from these and related microblade sites. These sites represent two stages of microblade technology; conical and wedge-shaped cores typify the first stage, while the second is characterized by an elaboration of wedge-shaped cores and a decline of conical ones. Microcore preparation is emphasized as an avenue for comparing Paleolithic industries found in North China, Japan, Northeast Asia, and northwestern North America. A review of the known industries from these regions suggests that they derived from a common cultural heritage, but that: Japanese industries seem to correspond techno-typologically to early and middle stages of the North China sequence; the Dyuktai industries of Northeast Asia equate with the middle stage of the North China sequence; and the American Paleo-Arctic tradition may have derived from the Dyuktai industries. -Authors
Raw materials and manufacturing strategies are the result of careful choices made within the wider context of the tool-using behavior, which in turn is a solution to particular problems (Torrence 1989:64).
1 * Progressive Social Evolution and Hunter-Gatherers.- 2 * The History of Americanist Hunter-Gatherer Research.- 3 * Middle-Range Theory and Hunter-Gatherers.- 4 * Hunter-Gatherers as Optimal Foragers.- 5 * More Complex Models of Optimal Behavior among Hunter-Gatherers.- 6 * Marxist and Structural Marxist Perspectives of Hunter-Gatherers.- 7 * Neo-Darwinian Theory and Hunter-Gatherers.- 8 * Hunter-Gatherers and Neo-Darwinian Cultural Transmission.- 9 * Hunter-Gatherers: Problems in Theory.- References.
We have compiled 462 C-14 determinations for 120 Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites from Siberia and the Russian Far East. The Mousterian sites are dated to ca. 46,000–28,500 BP. The Middle–Upper Paleolithic transition dates to ca. 43,300–28,500 BP. Although there are a few earlier sites, most of the Upper Paleolithic sites are dated to the time interval between ca. 34,000 BP and 10,000 BP. The earlier Upper Paleolithic stage is characterized by macroblade technology and is radiocarbon-dated to ca. 34,000–20,000 BP. The earliest microblade technology occurs in the late stage of the Upper Paleolithic, dated to ca. 23,000–20,000 BP, but the majority of microblade sites is dated to ca. 20,000–11,000 BP. The Final Paleolithic (Mesolithic) sites date to ca. 12,000–6000 BP. At ca. 13,000–11,000 BP, the earliest Neolithic appeared in both the Russian Far East (Amur River basin) and the Transbaikal. The Paleolithic–Neolithic transition occurred ca. 13,000–6000 BP.
The Youfang Paleolithic site, located in the eastern Nihewan Basin, Hebei Province, China, was discovered in 1984. However, the microblade assemblages which were excavated from the site lacked reliable chronological data. In this study, an optical dating technique was applied to nine samples from Late Pleistocene eolian sequences at the site. The ages of three samples from artifact-bearing deposits were in the range of ca. 26–29 ka with depths between 2.1 m and 2.9 m obtained with medium-grained quartz, corresponding to Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS3). These displayed evidence of a longer-term climate trend, in which the climate became gradually warmer and more humid. The sample from the upper culture layer was dated to 26.4 ± 2.1 ka. Five samples taken from the lower culture layer yielded ages between ca. 28 ka and 43 ka. The results suggest that human occupation at the Youfang site ranged from ca. 26 ka to 29 ka. Indeed, the Nihewan Basin yields the oldest microblade site in northern high latitudes (40° N), and offers a unique opportunity to study the emergence and characteristics of microblade technologies in northeast Asia. Nevertheless, extensive archeological field surveys and excavations are still needed to understand further the developmental process of microblade technologies in the region.
The effect of rapid climate change during the Late Upper Paleolithic on hunter-gatherers is attested by a variety of signals in the archaeological record. One of these, the spread of the microblade technology in North China, shows a particularly close relationship with climate change. The appearance of microblades and functionally related bone and ground stone technology at SDG12 is particularly revealing of this Late Pleistocene adaptive diversification in North China. SDG12 and other records suggest that microblade technology flourished in harsh environments that demanded high residential mobility. That in addition to their use in hunting weaponry, microblades were used in manufacturing the sophisticated cold weather clothing required for winter mobility, is shown by the presence of bone needles and a bone knife handle slotted to accept microblades. The SDG12 fauna and ground stone indicate an attendant shift from a more large game dominated, to a more plant and small game dominated diet that included net hunting and demanded a variety of production tasks that included net-making (spinning) and extensive stone boiling to maximize nutrient returns and as a step in manufacturing. We suspect these changes are the root cause of subsequent changes in social structure.
: The number of chronometric dates for the Korean Paleolithic has grown substantially during the last decade or so. The present study compiles Late Paleolithic radiocarbon dates for Korea and evaluates their significance based on a critical reexamination of previous works (e.g., Graf 2009; Pettitt et al. 2003). Adopting simple quantitative and qualitative procedures, I categorize the published dates into three groups; accepted, tentative, and rejected. Dates labeled as tentative are then reconsidered in terms of their correspondence with stratigraphic evidence, dates obtained from other methods, and archaeological interpretation. The evaluated dates in turn provide a valuable database on which we can construct a workable chronology of changes in lithic technology and occupational history in the Late Paleolithic in the modern-day Korean Peninsula.
Hokkaido constituted the northern landbridge between Japan and the Asian continent during most of the last glacial, since the Soya Strait, between Hokkaido and Sakhalin, continuously emerged after about 60 ka BP. This paper reconstructs the permafrost environment and vegetation of this northern landbridge from the distribution of fossil periglacial phenomena and pollen data. The edge of the continuous permafrost zone shifted southwards, down to about 45°N at northeast China, and to about 43°N at the southern foot of the Shikhote-Alin' Range in easternmost USSR. The southern boundary of the discontinuous permafrost zone reached about 40°N in Hebei, 44°N in northeast China, and 40°N at the southern foot of Changbai Shan, North Korea. the limit of each zone runs southward from the Pacific side inland, just as the present limit of the permafrost zone does. The lack of typical ice-wedge casts and pingo scars on the one hand, and the richness of soil wedges and palsa scar-like features on the other, in northern and eastern Hokkaido strongly suggest that most of Hokkaido was located in a discontinuous zone of permafrost during the last glacial. The continuous zone seems to have covered only the northernmost part of Hokkaido. -from English summary
Late Pleistocene Siberia was characterized by a unique mammoth-steppe biome. Two prevailing hypotheses exist to explain modern human dispersals in the Siberian mammoth-steppe. Upper Paleolithic human populations were either maintained continuously throughout the late Pleistocene or the peopling of this region resulted from multiple dispersal events. Past attempts at explaining the colonization process have resulted in culture-historical interpretations. This article uses lithic technological data from middle and late Upper Paleolithic sites in the Enisei River valley of south-central Siberia to explain human dispersals from a behavioral perspective. Technological provisioning and land-use strategies are reconstructed to help explain dispersal processes. Results of the study demonstrate that hunter–gatherers were using different adaptive strategies before and after the Last Glacial Maximum, indicating that multiple dispersal events shaped the peopling of Siberia.
Design engineers share archaeologists' interest in material culture, but unlike archaeologists, engineers have developed concepts for determining the suitability of technical systems to perform specific tasks. Given the difficulty archaeologists face in developing theories of material culture, I suggest that guiding principles of engineering design offer potentially useful insights.
In this article I discuss two design alternatives for optimizing the availability of any technical system - reliability and maintainability. Reliable systems are made so that they can be counted on to work when needed. Maintainable ones can easily be made to function if they are broken or not appropriate to the task at hand. Because these design alternatives have markedly different optimal applications and observably different physical characteristics, archaeologists can link the design of prehistoric weapons to environmental constraints and to specific hunting strategies. Ethnographic examples indicate that primitive hunters do use both reliable and maintainable systems in optimal situations.
Ethnographic examples of stone-tool makers in Australia and archaeological examples from three different areas in the western United States indicate that the availability of lithic raw materials is an important variable conditioning stone-tool production technology. Attributes of availability such as abundance and quality of lithic raw materials condition the production of formal- vs. informal-tool types. Poor-quality raw materials tend to be manufactured into informal-tool designs. High-quality lithic raw materials tend to be manufactured into formaltool designs when such materials occur in low abundance. When high-quality materials occur in great abundance both formal- and informal-tool designs are manufactured. Other factors, such as residential mobility or sedentism, are found to be less-important determinates of lithic-production technology.
Results of a study of Early Upper Paleolithic bone and antler projectile points indicate that different strategies of design, manufacture, and performance of projectile technology were emphasized throughout the Early Upper Paleolithic. An integrated analysis of morphology and wear, as well as experimentation in the production and use of various Early Upper Paleolithic projectile technologies has demonstrated that, while there is change through time in Early Upper Paleolithic projectile technology, there are considerable similarities among contemporaneous approaches to organic projectile technology. Moreover, while Aurignacian organic projectile technology was the same throughout western Europe, Gravettian organic projectile point design varied among regions.