泥河湾盆地旧石器中晚期石制品原料初步分析

A PRELIMINARY STUDY ON RAW MATERIAL EXPLOITATION IN MIDDLE-UPPER PALEOLITHIC SITES IN NIHEWAN BASIN

本文通过对泥河湾盆地旧石器时代中晚期诸遗址中石料产地的调查和石制品颜色、质地及表面状况的分析后认为 :泥河湾盆地旧石器中晚期人类选择石料方式变化主要发生在旧石器晚期的早段和晚段之间 ,在此之前的旧石器时代中期 ,人类选择石料主要在遗址附近 ,各遗址的石料表现出强烈的地方色彩 ,但遗址中的一些优质石料可能来源于 10多公里之外的地区 ;而在旧石器晚期早段 ,在基本继承这一特点的前提下 ,仅有很少量的石料输送距离达数 10km ;石料被带到遗址之前一般并不进行粗选 ,多是直接进行打片。在此之后 ,人类对石料的选择则表现出刻意的追求 ,优质石料大量被输送到数 10公里之外 ,而且石料在输入到遗址之前一般要经过精心选择 。

In the past 20 years,Chinese scientists have discovered a large number of Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan Basin,North China,ranging from the Lower Paleolithic to the Upper Paleolithic.Among these sites,Xujiayao,Que'ergou and Banjingzi,situatd on the top of lake deposit or the third terrace,were dated to the Middle Paleolithic;the Lower Xinmiaozhuang,Shenquansi and Xibaimaying,found in the bottom of the second terrace,were dated to the early Upper Paleolithic;while Hutouliang,Jiqitan,Erheshanggou,the Upper Xinmiaozhuang,and Youfang were dated to the late Upper Paleolithic sites,and Toumafang and Yujiagou,situated in the upper section of the second terrace,were dated to Paleolithic-Neolithic transitional period.Stone artifacts collected from these sites provide basic materials for the study of the change of raw material exploitation strategies from the Middle to the Upper Paleolithic in the Nihewan Basin.Not all kinds of rock are suitable for stone tool manufacture,and the most frequently used materials by the Paleolithic people in the Nihewan Basin are vein quartz,chalcedony,volcano breccia,concealed crystal silicon,etc.Vein quartz is broadly distributed and can be easily obtained within the Nihewan Basin but with relatively low quality.Chalcedony and some volcanic rock are only located in limited areas,such as the Huiquanbao Village,Yangyuan Country and along some branches of the Sangganhe River.They can be easily obtained in these areas and have better quality than the vein quartz.Chalcedony materials are relatively hard with smooth and homogeneous internal consistency,but are generaly small in size,mostly smaller than 5 cm in diameter.Volcano breccia can be found in the cental areas of the basin,such as Guaijiawan and Xinmiaozhuagn.Concealed crystal silicon is distributed in the eastern areas of the basin,such as Youfang and Donggutuo.The latter two kinds of rock have very similar texture,that is,some part is fine while some is coarse.In order to compare raw material exploitation strategies between different ages and different areas,the basin where the target archaeological sites were located was divided into three parts:the East,Central, and the West. The East Part:Concealed crystal silicon is the principal raw material used in the eastern part of the Nihewan Basin.Though it is used as raw material by three sites——Banjingzi,Youfang and Toumafang,the exploitation degree is different from site to site.Among them,the Youfang site,the youngest in the sequence and nearest to the raw material source,yields well-made artifacts,which may be related to the application of microblade technology.The Central Part:Sites within the central part of the basin include Que'ergou,Daxiliangnangou,Hutouliang,Yujiagou and Xinmiaozhuang.Several kinds of raw material were exploited at these sites,but volcano breccia is the most frequently used material in this region.The West Part:Xujiayao,Shenquanis,Xibaimaying and Erheshenggou sites are situated in this district.While vein quartz and chalcedony are both used in the former three sites,the utilization of chalcedony here is unique.The exploitation of volcano breccia at the Erheshanggou site is another special character of this area.After comparing all the sites in the basin by their distance to the material sources,the preference of different raw materials selected,and the technology in processing these materials,some interesting phenomena were observed through time:The Middle Paleolithic:People at the three Middle Paleolithic sites,situated in different part in the basin,made use of different raw materials,i.e.,lava and vein quartz as the main raw material at Que'ergou,vein quartz and chalcedony at Xujiayao,and concealed crystal silicon at Banjingzi.However,they are all local materials,obtained near the sites,within 10 km in distance.The early Upper Paleolithic:No distinct change in the way raw material were handled can be observed at sites of this period from the previous one.However,a piece of volcano breccia and some chalcedony pieces were found at Xinmiaozhuang,which might indica