Intra-assemblage variation in the macro-blade assemblage from the 1963 excavation at Shuidonggou locality 1, northern China, in the context of regional variation

Li, Feng; Kuhn, Steven L.; Chen, Fu you; Gao, Xing

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0234576

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…Considering the bulk of the chronological data available for SDG1 and SDG2, earlier dates are more reliable than the few late ones and place the blade assemblages between 41 and 34 ka cal BP [ 9 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 32 , 81 ]. These dates are broadly consistent with a scenario of human population dispersals from the Eurasian Steppe [ 20 , 21 , 25 , 26 ], from North Mongolia [ 27 , 82 ], and/or the Altai [ 53 ]. After 34 ka cal BP, however, the unequivocal predominance of CFAs in North China suggests that the occurrence of blades is only a short episode in the region’s technological sequence.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…The lack of blade elements in these later assemblages cannot be explained solely by deposition processes, because no significant post-depositional transport has been identified [ 30 , 55 ]. Nor can it be easily attributed to raw material quality or availability as the blade assemblages from SDG1 and SDG2 are made on the same local raw materials as the CFAs [ 53 , 54 ]. SDG2 was described as a residential camp [ 50 , 63 ], with a lithic production characterized by an expedient pattern and showing a low frequency of artifact recycling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the various localities that have been discovered, SDG1, SDG2, and SDG9 yielded varying numbers of blade artifacts. The Pleistocene assemblage at SDG1 is often assigned to be IUP based artifacts [ 20 , 28 , 51 – 53 ], while at SDG2, the relevant material is restricted to a few blade-related artifacts found in the two lower layers of CL5 and CL7 [ 9 , 54 ]. SDG2 was excavated between 2003 and 2007 at Trench 1 and 2 and between 2014 and 2016 at Trench 3 ( Fig 2 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China

Zhang

Zwyns²,

Peng³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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Contrasting with the predominance of blade-based assemblages in the Eurasian Upper Paleolithic, the large-scale persistence of a core-and-flake technology remains one of the defining features of Late Pleistocene lithic technology in East Asia. In North China, Shuidonggou is an exceptional site where both technologies are documented, therefore, it is an important archaeological sequence to understand regional technological evolution during the Marine Isotopic Stage 3. Blade technology first occurred at Shuidonggou Locality 1 and 2 around 41 ka cal BP while core-and-flake assemblages were widespread in North China. However, systematic technological studies on assemblages postdating 34 ka cal BP have not been conducted to examine whether the blade technology appeared and disappeared over a short yet abrupt episode, or persists and integrates into other forms in the region. Here, we conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses to reconstruct lithic productions on the assemblages at Shuidonggou Locality 2, dated after 34 ka cal BP. Our results show that there is a total absence of laminar elements in stone artifacts dated to 34–28 ka cal BP at Shuidonggou. Instead, we observe a dominance of an expedient production of flakes in the younger assemblages, illustrating a rapid return to flake-based technology after a relatively brief episode of stone blade production. Combining archaeological, environmental, and genetic evidence, we suggest that this technological ‘reversal’ from blades back to core and flake technology reflect population dynamics and adaptive strategies at an ecological interface between East Asian winter and summer monsoon.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China

Zhang

Zwyns²,

Peng³

et al. 2022

PLoS ONE

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“…For example, Sitlivy et al (1997) consider that asymmetrical forms (then called 'sub-volumetric') are the end of a reduction process during which the core was mostly flat. Blades with proximal thinning found in the Altai are rare in the Baikal region and in Mongolia (Rybin 2000(Rybin , 2014, and in North China, blade intentional breakage and BCR are rare (Kuhn 2019;Li et al 2020). Another way to look at variations would be to consider that innovation, and the transmission of cultural information is tightly linked with demography.…”

Section: Technocomplexes Culture Groups and Populationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Initial Upper Paleolithic in Central and East Asia: Blade Technology, Cultural Transmission, and Implications for Human Dispersals

Zwyns

2021

J Paleo Arch

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Archaeological assemblages labeled as Initial Upper Paleolithic are often seen as possible evidence for dispersals of Homo sapiens populations in Eurasia, ca. 45,000 years ago. While most authors agree that the IUP can be recognized by a set of shared features, there is far less consensus on what these features are, and what they mean. Because of methodological challenges inherent to long distance comparisons, documenting and establishing a firm connection between archaeological assemblages remain difficult and often draw legitimate skepticism. There could be many reasons why Paleolithic hunter-gatherers used comparable technologies, but it usually comes down to two kinds of processes: cultural transmission or convergence. In other words, technological similarities may illustrate a cultural link between regions or may be caused by mechanisms of independent reinvention between more distantly related populations. Here, I focus on three assemblages from the Siberian Altai, Zabaikal region, and North Mongolia to address one main question: is there such thing as a united IUP in Central and East Asia, or are we looking at unrelated yet comparable adaptive processes? First, I describe the common structure of lithic blade production at the sites, with special attention to derived features relative to the regional sequence. After comparing the complexity of the production system with those of other lithic technologies, I suggest that this coherent, intricate, yet unprecedented technological pattern found across contiguous regions in Asia is better explained by transmission processes than by multiple unrelated reinventions, or local developments. The blade production system described in Siberia and Mongolia reoccur as a package, which is consistent with indirect bias and/or conformist cultural transmission processes. Overall, the results point toward close contact between individuals and hunter gatherer populations, and supports the recognition of a broad cultural unit to encapsulate Asian IUP assemblages. Considering other lines of evidence, the geographical and chronological distribution of Asian IUP lithic technology is consistent with a dispersal of Homo sapiens populations in Central and East Asia during the Marine Isotopic Stage 3, although the geographical origin of such movement is less clear.

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A Cold Habitat: Mapping Blade Assemblages Between the Siberian Altai and the Tibetan Plateau During MIS 3

Zhang,

Haas,

Paine

et al. 2024

J Paleo Arch

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How and why early hunter–gatherers expanded into the challenging environments of the Tibetan Plateau during the Pleistocene remain largely unexplained. The discovery of the archaeological site of Nwya Devu, characterized by lithic blade production, brings new evidence of human expansion to high elevations ca. 40–30 ka. The blade assemblage currently lacks technological antecedents in East Asia. During Marine Isotope Stage 3, the surrounding lowlands to the Plateau were dominated by a distinct type of industry broadly named “core and flake.” It is suggested that the Nwya Devu blade assemblage derives from traditions in the eastern Eurasian Steppe, a clustered hub for Upper Paleolithic blade technology. In contrast to the East Asian lowlands, the Tibetan Plateau shares a number of environmental similarities with North and Central Asia such as low temperature and humidity, long winters, strong seasonality, and grassland landscapes. Blade and core-and-flake technologies tend to be associated with different environments in eastern Asia. We hypothesize that this geographic distribution indicates different sets of behavioral adaptations that map onto distinct ecozones and are relevant to human expansion to the Tibetan Plateau during Marine Isotope Stage 3. To evaluate the working model, we characterized the environmental parameters for both blade and core-and-flake technologies in eastern Asia during the period. The results show that environmental conditions on the Plateau and at the Nwya Devu site align with those of blade assemblages documented in the Eurasian Steppe and contrast with those of core-and-flake assemblages. Blade technology is strongly associated with low-temperature environments. These findings suggest that hunter–gatherers from the steppe belt may have benefited from their behaviorally adaptive advantages when moving into the highland environments of the Tibetan Plateau, 40–30 ka.

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Intra-assemblage variation in the macro-blade assemblage from the 1963 excavation at Shuidonggou locality 1, northern China, in the context of regional variation

Cited by 8 publications

References 39 publications

After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China

After the blades: The late MIS3 flake-based technology at Shuidonggou Locality 2, North China

The Initial Upper Paleolithic in Central and East Asia: Blade Technology, Cultural Transmission, and Implications for Human Dispersals

A Cold Habitat: Mapping Blade Assemblages Between the Siberian Altai and the Tibetan Plateau During MIS 3

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