Engraved bones from the archaic hominin site of Lingjing, Henan Province

Li, Zhanyang; Doyon, Luc; Li, Hao; Wang, Quiang; Zhang, zhongqiang; Zhao, Qin; d’Errico, Francesco

doi:10.15184/aqy.2019.81

Cited by 33 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…On the other hand, the Lingjing case further highlights the inability of lithic technology to adequately describe the whole breadth of behavioural variability for the humanities that preceded us. Careful consideration of the faunal assemblages, both from a taphonomic and a technological perspective, especially in East Asia, now allow us to perceive a level of technological complexity that is entirely comparable to penecontemporaneous evidence from other regions of the Old World [23,116,143,[161][162][163][164][165].We can only hope the recent discoveries from Lingjing and other sites will encourage a careful re-examination of faunal assemblages from these perspectives to further our understanding of the cultural trajectories of the technological systems before and after the dispersal of our species in the region.…”

Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Microscopic analysis indicates these lines were made when the fragments were already weathered, therefore rejecting the hypothesis that they could represent butchery cut marks. Analysis of red residues identified in and between the lines engraved on one specimen demonstrates the presence of red hematite, interpreted as evidence of smearing ochre over the pattern to make it more visible [ 143 ].…”

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 115,000-year-old expedient bone technology at Lingjing, Henan, China

Doyon

Wang

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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Activities attested since at least 2.6 Myr, such as stone knapping, marrow extraction, and woodworking may have allowed early hominins to recognize the technological potential of discarded skeletal remains and equipped them with a transferable skillset fit for the marginal modification and utilization of bone flakes. Identifying precisely when and where expedient bone tools were used in prehistory nonetheless remains a challenging task owing to the multiple natural and anthropogenic processes that can mimic deliberately knapped bones. Here, we compare a large sample of the faunal remains from Lingjing, a 115 ka-old site from China which has yielded important hominin remains and rich faunal and lithic assemblages, with bone fragments produced by experimentally fracturing Equus caballus long bones. Our results provide a set of qualitative and quantitative criteria that can help zooarchaeologists and bone technologists distinguish faunal remains with intentional flake removal scars from those resulting from carcass processing activities. Experimental data shows marrow extraction seldom generates diaphyseal fragments bearing more than six flake scars arranged contiguously or in interspersed series. Long bone fragments presenting such characteristics can, therefore, be interpreted as being purposefully knapped to be used as expediency tools. The identification, based on the above experimental criteria, of 56 bone tools in the Lingjing faunal assemblage is consistent with the smaller size of the lithics found in the same layer. The continuity gradient observed in the size of lithics and knapped bones suggests the latter were used for tasks in which the former were less or not effective.

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Section: Plos Onementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Archaeological Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 115,000-year-old expedient bone technology at Lingjing, Henan, China

Doyon

Wang

et al. 2021

PLoS ONE

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“…Analysis of faunal remains from layer 11 identified the earliest known evidence for pressure flaking [37], the first bone retouchers from East Asia [38], and the use of metapodials as organic soft hammer for marrow extraction [39]. Two weathered bone fragments bearing parallel engraved lines and traces of ocher were also found in this layer [15].…”

Section: Archeological Context and Datingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Multiple evidence now demonstrates that behaviors generally associated with symbolic thought, such as producing abstract drawings and engravings, using pigments, wearing personal ornaments and performing complex mortuary practices, are three to ten times older than what was acknowledged two decades ago. It is also becoming clear that these practices emerged gradually among both African Middle Stone Age populations and the so-called archaic populations living in Europe and Asia [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Figurative representations were considered until recently the only symbolic manifestation for which Europe could claim precedence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Paleolithic bird figurine from the Lingjing site, Henan, China

Doyon

Fang

et al. 2020

PLoS ONE

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The recent identification of cave paintings dated to 42-40 ka BP in Borneo and Sulawesi highlights the antiquity of painted representations in this region. However, no instances of three-dimensional portable art, well attested in Europe since at least 40 ka BP, were documented thus far in East Asia prior to the Neolithic. Here, we report the discovery of an exceptionally well-preserved miniature carving of a standing bird from the site of Lingjing, Henan, China. Microscopic and microtomographic analyses of the figurine and the study of bone fragments from the same context reveal the object was made of bone blackened by heating and carefully carved with four techniques that left diagnostic traces on the entire surface of the object. Critical analysis of the site's research history and stratigraphy, the cultural remains associated with the figurine and those recovered from the other archeological layers, as well as twenty-eight radiometric ages obtained on associated archeological items, including one provided by a bone fragment worked with the same technique recorded on the object, suggest a Late Paleolithic origin for the carving, with a probable age estimated to 13,500 years old. The carving, which predates previously known comparable instances from this region by 8,500 years, demonstrates that three-dimensional avian representations were part of East Asian Late Pleistocene cultural repertoires and identifies technological and stylistic peculiarities distinguishing this newly discovered art tradition from previous and contemporary examples found in Western Europe and Siberia.

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“…At a more recent time, in at least 105,000 BP, at Lingjing (Li et al 2019) flat bones were engraved with approximately parallel lines ( Fig. 7a) and ochre was used to highlight the engravings.…”

Section: The Origin and Initial Development Of Art Or Graphic Symbolimentioning

confidence: 99%