水阳江流域是长江下游右岸的一条重要支流,以上世纪80-90年代发现“水阳江旧石器地点群”为学术界所关注。2004年,安徽省文物考古研究所主持对流域内宣城麻村旧石器遗址进行考古调查与发掘工作,其中调查采集石制品71件,发掘出土石制品78件。遗址埋藏于水阳江右岸第二级河流阶地的红色黏土层中;石制品原料取自河流阶地下部的河卵石且以石英岩占绝对优势。石制品制作以锤击法为主,砸击法少量;石制品类型包括打击类、剥片类、废片类和小型工具等。石核剥片程度较低,石片多为初级剥片产品,总体显示中国南方砾石工业的特点。虽然技术组合处于模式I范畴内,但部分长度超过10 cm的石片和手镐及石刀等大型切割工具的发现,表明早期人类具备生产模式II产品的能力。根据石制品埋藏于网纹红土及上部均质红土的特点以及同长江中下游相关地区的地貌和年代对比,推测麻村遗址时代为大致为中更新世晚期至晚更新世早期。

Shuiyangjiang River system, as an important branch in the right bank of the Yangtze River, has got great attention for discovering “Shuiyangjiang Paleolithic site complex” since 1980-90’s. In 2004, archaeological survey and excavation were carried out by the staffs from the Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics of Anhui Province at Macun site, Xuancheng. Seventy-one lithic artifacts were collected from the surface and seventy-eight lithic artifacts were unearthed from the deposit. The site is buried in the red clay of the second terrace of the right bank of the Shuiyangjiang River. Lithic raw materials were procured from the local river beds and quartzite was the dominant type of rocks. Most of the stone artifacts were manufactured by freehand hammer percussion, followed by bipolar technique. Typologically, the lithic artifacts comprise Pounded Pieces, Flaked Pieces, Detached Pieces, and Small retouched pieces etc. The Macun lithic assemblage can be assigned to the Pebble Tool Industry in South China which indicated by the low reduction sequence of core and early stage of flake attributes. Although the lithic technique falling in the scope of ModeI industry, some large flakes (with more than 10cm in maximum length or width) and large cutting tools (big knife and picks) indicate that early hominin bear the ability of making Mode II productions. Judging from the reticulate red clay of the site context, geomorphological and chronological comparison among the regions in the middle to lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the Macun site can be deduced to the late Middle Pleistocene to early Late Pleistocene.