Handaxes are often regarded as the"tool-type-specimenoof the Acheulean techno-complex,not only because they are a very common artefact but because they contain rich technological,behavioral,and cognitive data tha...Handaxes are often regarded as the"tool-type-specimenoof the Acheulean techno-complex,not only because they are a very common artefact but because they contain rich technological,behavioral,and cognitive data that have been used to highlight trends in human evolution and lithic production strategies.To this end,the handaxe is the earliest tool possessing consistent morphological features,in particular,the appearance of a symmetrical concept in handaxe shape when compared with other Acheulean large shaping tools(e.g.,cleavers),and their manufacture is widely regarded as a significant milestone in the evolution of lithic technology,indicating improvements in tool-making hominins’abilities for complex thought and cognition.展开更多
In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the s...In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the same stratigraphic layer.The age of this site was estimated from faunal comparisons and palaeomagnetism and has been attributed to the Early Pleistocene,most probably the earlier Early Pleistocene.The human teeth from this site have been well studied.However,the stone artifacts are still unknown to most scholars.This paper thus presents an analysis of the lithics as the first firmly demonstrated stone tools associated with Early Pleistocene human fossils in south China.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China BSCTPES project(41988101)。
文摘Handaxes are often regarded as the"tool-type-specimenoof the Acheulean techno-complex,not only because they are a very common artefact but because they contain rich technological,behavioral,and cognitive data that have been used to highlight trends in human evolution and lithic production strategies.To this end,the handaxe is the earliest tool possessing consistent morphological features,in particular,the appearance of a symmetrical concept in handaxe shape when compared with other Acheulean large shaping tools(e.g.,cleavers),and their manufacture is widely regarded as a significant milestone in the evolution of lithic technology,indicating improvements in tool-making hominins’abilities for complex thought and cognition.
基金funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pioneer Hundred Talents Programthe China-South Africa Bilateral Programme in Palaeolithic Archaeology to Gao Xing(Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, China-South Africa Joint Research Program-7)K.Kuman(National Research Foundation,Grant No.88480)
文摘In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the same stratigraphic layer.The age of this site was estimated from faunal comparisons and palaeomagnetism and has been attributed to the Early Pleistocene,most probably the earlier Early Pleistocene.The human teeth from this site have been well studied.However,the stone artifacts are still unknown to most scholars.This paper thus presents an analysis of the lithics as the first firmly demonstrated stone tools associated with Early Pleistocene human fossils in south China.
