The timing of Palaeolithic human activities in South China is still controversial because of the lack of a reliable chronology of archaeological sites.The Longdengshan Palaeolithic site(LPS),located close to the Wuyi ...The timing of Palaeolithic human activities in South China is still controversial because of the lack of a reliable chronology of archaeological sites.The Longdengshan Palaeolithic site(LPS),located close to the Wuyi Mountain of South China,represents the first discovered and scientifically excavated Middle Palaeolithic site in the Fujian Province.This site is of considerable significance for studying the diffusion and cultural connotation of early Homo sapiens in southern China.In this study,we present optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)ages obtained from medium-grained quartz collected at the LPS.The single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurements of red soil deposits collected at the same site yielded internally and stratigraphically consistent ages and similar errors,indicating a potential ability of the technique,and also reflecting the influence of various sedimentary facies on the test results.Our results indicate that the 38–63µm quartz grains were generally partially-bleached and had large values of over-dispersion in the palaeo-reticulated laterites of west Fujian.Some samples yielded unsatisfactory results,suggesting that the degree of bleaching of diluvial and alluvial deposits should be properly assessed before dating.We did not detect any enrichment/depletion of U,Th and radioactive disequilibrium.The effect of chemical weathering on the dose rate estimation was negligible.Therefore,we used a central age model and the maximum age model to calculate the age of two samples,respectively,and the minimum age model to calculate the ages of the rest of the samples.The OSL ages of the samples ranged from 27.09±2.30 ka to 54.65±7.39 ka for the 38–63µm quartz size fraction,and roughly corresponded to the Marine Isotope Stage 3.In addition,three ages out of five are based on the calculation of minimum ages in this research,which needs to be further verified by other dating methods.展开更多
Similarities play an important role in the reconstruction of human physical,cultural and technological evolution.The two sites presented in this paper,the Middle Palaeolithic site Lingjing in China Layer 10 and 11 and...Similarities play an important role in the reconstruction of human physical,cultural and technological evolution.The two sites presented in this paper,the Middle Palaeolithic site Lingjing in China Layer 10 and 11 and the Lower Palaeolithic site Schöningen 13Ⅱ-4,the socalled Schöningen Spear Horizon in Germany,show striking similarities.The archaeological record of both sites includes lithic artifacts as well as a very large assemblage of fossil bones.The preservation of the material at both sites is excellent and the faunas encountered at both sites show many similarities.The faunal lists of both sites include a diverse carnivore guild,an elephant species,two different rhinoceros species,two different equids,different cervids and large bovids.Both sites also yielded bone retouchers as well as a unique record of bone hammers that show identical,unusual flaking and percussion damage.These similarities are remarkable if one takes into account the difference in age(ca 200 kaBP)and the geographical distance between the two sites of ca 8000 km.Therefore,we do not assume a close cultural link between the hominin populations active at both sites.The authors assume that the observed similarities show more or less identical,opportunistic hominin behaviour at both sites located in a comparable environment with more or less similar taphonomic conditions.展开更多
Eight new Palaeolithic open-air sites were identified and 770 stone artefacts were collected from 2009 to 2011 in the Lantian area of the Bahe River valley, central China. Because the famous Homo erectus fossils were ...Eight new Palaeolithic open-air sites were identified and 770 stone artefacts were collected from 2009 to 2011 in the Lantian area of the Bahe River valley, central China. Because the famous Homo erectus fossils were unearthed at the Gongwangling and Chenjiawo localities, and more than 30 Palaeolithic open-air sites were investigated in the 1960s in this region, the catchment of Bahe River is regarded as one of the most important hominin sites from the late early Pleistocene to the middle Pleistocene. These eight newly discovered open-air sites are located at the second(n = 6), third(n = 1) or higher terraces(n = 1) of the Bahe River. The Diaozhai section on the second terrace was sampled in detail. Two samples were collected for optically stimulated luminescence dating(OSL). The OSL results suggest that a buried lithic artefact layer at the Diaozhai site spans approximately 70–30 ka. The lithic assemblage analysis suggests that the stone artefacts were made of local pebbles/cobbles such as greywacke, quartz, sandstone and igneous rocks. The main percussion techniques that were used were direct hard hammer percussion and bi-polar techniques. The lithic artefacts comprise hammer stones, cores, flakes, retouched tools and flaking debris. Acheulian-type large cutting tools(LCTs) such as hand-axes, picks and cleavers were indentified in the Lantian region as well. This is the first time Acheulian-type LCTs from the late Pleistocene have been identified in this region. This study distinguishes age gaps between Western world and East Asian Acheulian-type tools.展开更多
基金supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41301012,42077407 and 41771020),Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province,China(Grant No.2020J01185),and the Innovation Research Team Fund of Fujian Normal University(Grant No.IRTL1705).
文摘The timing of Palaeolithic human activities in South China is still controversial because of the lack of a reliable chronology of archaeological sites.The Longdengshan Palaeolithic site(LPS),located close to the Wuyi Mountain of South China,represents the first discovered and scientifically excavated Middle Palaeolithic site in the Fujian Province.This site is of considerable significance for studying the diffusion and cultural connotation of early Homo sapiens in southern China.In this study,we present optically stimulated luminescence(OSL)ages obtained from medium-grained quartz collected at the LPS.The single-aliquot regenerative-dose measurements of red soil deposits collected at the same site yielded internally and stratigraphically consistent ages and similar errors,indicating a potential ability of the technique,and also reflecting the influence of various sedimentary facies on the test results.Our results indicate that the 38–63µm quartz grains were generally partially-bleached and had large values of over-dispersion in the palaeo-reticulated laterites of west Fujian.Some samples yielded unsatisfactory results,suggesting that the degree of bleaching of diluvial and alluvial deposits should be properly assessed before dating.We did not detect any enrichment/depletion of U,Th and radioactive disequilibrium.The effect of chemical weathering on the dose rate estimation was negligible.Therefore,we used a central age model and the maximum age model to calculate the age of two samples,respectively,and the minimum age model to calculate the ages of the rest of the samples.The OSL ages of the samples ranged from 27.09±2.30 ka to 54.65±7.39 ka for the 38–63µm quartz size fraction,and roughly corresponded to the Marine Isotope Stage 3.In addition,three ages out of five are based on the calculation of minimum ages in this research,which needs to be further verified by other dating methods.
文摘Similarities play an important role in the reconstruction of human physical,cultural and technological evolution.The two sites presented in this paper,the Middle Palaeolithic site Lingjing in China Layer 10 and 11 and the Lower Palaeolithic site Schöningen 13Ⅱ-4,the socalled Schöningen Spear Horizon in Germany,show striking similarities.The archaeological record of both sites includes lithic artifacts as well as a very large assemblage of fossil bones.The preservation of the material at both sites is excellent and the faunas encountered at both sites show many similarities.The faunal lists of both sites include a diverse carnivore guild,an elephant species,two different rhinoceros species,two different equids,different cervids and large bovids.Both sites also yielded bone retouchers as well as a unique record of bone hammers that show identical,unusual flaking and percussion damage.These similarities are remarkable if one takes into account the difference in age(ca 200 kaBP)and the geographical distance between the two sites of ca 8000 km.Therefore,we do not assume a close cultural link between the hominin populations active at both sites.The authors assume that the observed similarities show more or less identical,opportunistic hominin behaviour at both sites located in a comparable environment with more or less similar taphonomic conditions.
基金supported by the One Hundred Talent Person Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(KZCX2-YW-BR-24)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA05130201 and XDA05120704)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41072122 and 41202127)
文摘Eight new Palaeolithic open-air sites were identified and 770 stone artefacts were collected from 2009 to 2011 in the Lantian area of the Bahe River valley, central China. Because the famous Homo erectus fossils were unearthed at the Gongwangling and Chenjiawo localities, and more than 30 Palaeolithic open-air sites were investigated in the 1960s in this region, the catchment of Bahe River is regarded as one of the most important hominin sites from the late early Pleistocene to the middle Pleistocene. These eight newly discovered open-air sites are located at the second(n = 6), third(n = 1) or higher terraces(n = 1) of the Bahe River. The Diaozhai section on the second terrace was sampled in detail. Two samples were collected for optically stimulated luminescence dating(OSL). The OSL results suggest that a buried lithic artefact layer at the Diaozhai site spans approximately 70–30 ka. The lithic assemblage analysis suggests that the stone artefacts were made of local pebbles/cobbles such as greywacke, quartz, sandstone and igneous rocks. The main percussion techniques that were used were direct hard hammer percussion and bi-polar techniques. The lithic artefacts comprise hammer stones, cores, flakes, retouched tools and flaking debris. Acheulian-type large cutting tools(LCTs) such as hand-axes, picks and cleavers were indentified in the Lantian region as well. This is the first time Acheulian-type LCTs from the late Pleistocene have been identified in this region. This study distinguishes age gaps between Western world and East Asian Acheulian-type tools.
