The Emergence of Pressure Knapping Microblade Technology in Northeast Asia

Abstract

This article is a critical review of published data from the earliest evidence of pressure knapped microblade technology from various regions in Northeast Asia (Siberia, Korea, China, Mongolia, Japan, Sakhalin, and Russian Far East), including discussions not only on published dates, but also on published artifacts (drawings and photos) relating to these assemblages. The issue concerning the geographical and chronological origin of microblade technology in Northeast Asia remains a widely debated concern, not only as new data emerge, but also due to researchers having different definitions of the term “microblade” and “microblade core”. In this case, by microblade technology, I refer to the systematic production of microblades using the pressure knapping technique. I therefore review the data in light of this defining feature and conclude that, based on the present state of research, pressure knapping microblade technology probably emerged in the Far East (China, Korea, or Japan) around 30,000–25,000 cal BP, in spite of most authors considering that microblade technology emerged in southern Siberia 40,000–35,000 years ago. In the discussion section, I argue about the potential role of obsidian in the emergence of pressure knapped microblade technology.

Migrations and interactions in prehistoric Beringia: the evolution of Yakutian lithic technology

“…14000 cal BP), is the only one in this region to have unearthed a whole microblade toolkit made of Yubetsu microcores and therefore has clear technological ties with the Dyuktai complex of Siberia (Holmes 2008, 2011; Gómez Coutouly 2011a). Afterwards, in Alaska, the Yubetsu method was rapidly abandoned and replaced by the Campus method (Holmes 2008; Gómez Coutouly 2011a, 2012) and other conical and tabular microcores. As for the Palaeolithic of Siberia, most pressure-flaked microblades in Alaska were also made using the hand-held or shoulder-crutch technique, although there can be some exceptions (Gómez Coutouly 2011a).…”

“…The Siberian Palaeolithic sites assigned to the Dyuktai complex are considered to be the Asian equivalent of the Denali complex in Alaska (e.g. Plumet 2004a; Holmes 2008; Gómez Coutouly 2011a, 2012) based on the very similar type of technological implements. The Sumnagin Mesolithic complex of Siberia is also seen by a few researchers as having technologically influenced some of the Early Holocene Northwest Pacific coastal occupations such as Anangula (Kozlowski & Bandi 1984; Slobodin 2011).…”

Post‐last glacial maximum expansion of Y‐chromosome haplogroup C2a‐L1373 in northern Asia and its implications for the origin of Native Americans

“…The Dyuktai culture was replaced by the Sumnagin culture (10.5–6 kya), which left remains indicating flourishing microblade technology, which diffused from low latitude regions of northern Asia (Goebel, 2002; Gómez Coutouly, 2016; Pitul'ko, 2001). Archaeologists have suggested that ancient populations of the Dyuktai culture migrated to North America in an earlier age, while ancient populations with microblade technology entered North America later (Gómez Coutouly, 2016, 2018; Yi et al, 1985). These two waves of migration led to the prevalence of microblade technology in the northern part of North America, while remains of such technology are rare in southern North America and the whole of South America.…”

Rethinking the Disappearance of Microblade Technology in the Terminal Pleistocene of Hokkaido, Northern Japan: Looking at Archaeological and Palaeoenvironmental Evidence

“…It is widely known that microblade technology was distributed across regions of northeast Asia, such as North China, the Korean peninsula, the Russian Far East, Mongolia and Siberia [13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Many researchers have made advances with comparing the techno-typological features of microblade assemblages and accumulating radiocarbon dates.…”

“…Understanding when and how microblade technology appeared and disappeared in each region has been a topic of debate in northeast Asian Upper Palaeolithic research. Although several hypotheses on the origin(s) of microblade technology in northeast Asia have been presented and debated until recently [6,13,15,16,22,23], the disappearance of microblade technology in each region has received less attention.…”