Lithic raw material economy at the Huayang site in Northeast China: localization and diversification as adaptive strategies in the Late Glacial

Abstract

The study of lithic raw material plays an important role in developing archeologists’ understanding of the different adaptive strategies and behaviors of prehistoric people. In this paper, we present new evidence from the Huayang site that reveals lithic raw material procurement and exploitation strategies dating to around 14 ka cal. BP. The Huayang site is located in the southern portion of the Lesser Khingan Mountains in Northeast China, a key region for examining migration, diffusion, and interaction among hunter-gatherers in East and Northeast Asia. Our results indicate that diversified lithic raw materials were found and procured from local riverbeds and reduced at the site. Each raw material was reduced with distinctive knapping strategies and, as a result, there is a strong discrete spatial pattern for each of the different raw material types. Intra- and inter-site comparative analyses suggest a uniform trend towards localization and diversification of lithic raw materials in the southern Lesser Khingan Mountains, Northeast China during the Late Glacial, which seems to be associated with the paleoclimatic amelioration and the demographic expansion during this period.

Research on the cultural innovation system of the old industrial base of Northeast China under the environment of big data

“…Revitalizing the old industrial bases in Northeast China is an important strategic opportunity and a turning point for the development of Northeast China in the new millennium and another great venture of Northeast China [4][5]. The essence of this venture is the profound change from the traditional industrial society to the new industrial society and from the planned economy to the market economy in the old industrial areas of Northeast China [6][7]. The backwardness of the Northeast is the economic backwardness on the surface, but the deeper reason is the ideological backwardness, especially the cultural backwardness.…”

Knapping quality of local versus exotic Upper Mercer chert (Ohio, USA) during the Holocene

“…Finally, in some instances tool type has been suggested to covary with raw material quality. Expedient, or informal, tools were made on poor‐quality locally available toolstone, while formal tools were made on exotic high‐quality toolstone (e.g., Andrefsky, 1994a, 1994b; Horowitz, 2018b; Yue et al, 2020). In other examples, however, formal, complex tools were made on poor‐quality, locally available toolstones (e.g., Brantingham et al, 2000; Meltzer & Eren, 2021; K. B. Tankersley, 1994; K. B. Tankersley et al, 1991).…”