Abstract:

Located in Qinshui County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province, the Xiachuan site stands out as a significant Upper Paleolithic archaeological site. Excavations have revealed five distinct localities within the site, namely Xiaobaihuageliang, Fuyihegeliang, Liushuiyao, Shuijingbei, and Niulu localities. Two squares exhibiting similar stratigraphic accumulations were excavated at the Shuijingbei locality. The stratigraphic accumulation can be categorized into two primary cultural stages. The lower cultural layer comprises a wealth of remains characterized by a simple core-flake industry, indicative of the early Upper Paleolithic period (44~33 kaBP). The upper cultural stage contains remnants of microblade technology, corresponding to the middle Upper Paleolithic period (26~25 kaBP). During the early Upper Paleolithic stage at the Shuijingbei locality, the prevalent technological approach was simple core-flake industry, most artifacts were directly knapped by hard hammers with a small number of artifacts using bipolar method. In the upper cultural period at the Shuijingbei locality, microblade technology emerged alongside the continued presence of the simple core-flake industry. Among all the excavation localities within the Xiachuan site, the Shuijingbei locality stands out as having the most abundant remains associated with the simple core-flake industry. This particular locality offers valuable insights into the evolutionary trajectory of flaking practices across different time periods. A thorough analysis of the technical attributes of simple core-flake industry cores discovered from these distinct cultural layers at the Shuijingbei locality reveals two distinct flaking organization strategies: Platform orientation and flaking surface orientation. The platform orientation organization encompasses four distinct flaking patterns: Single flaking direction and surface, single flaking direction with multiple flaking surfaces, dual flaking surfaces with a single flaking direction, and multiple flaking surfaces and directions. Conversely, the more sophisticated flaking surface orientation strategy incorporates lateral directions within a single flaking surface and opposing flaking directions within the same flaking surface, constituting two distinctive flaking patterns and highlighting the complexity of flaking techniques. Remnants from both the early and middle Upper Paleolithic periods at the Shuijingbei locality in the Xiachuan site display evidence of these flaking organization strategies, suggesting the enduring nature of the simple core-flake industry’s techniques. Notably, during the middle Upper Paleolithic period at the Shuijingbei locality, advancements in core-flaking techniques are evident, characterized by improved platform retouch techniques, continuous flaking on a single surface, enhanced control over flakes’ shape and size, and increased core development and utilization. By comparing the characteristics of these flaking techniques, it can be inferred that the advancements observed in the middle Upper Paleolithic stage were likely influenced by the concurrent presence of microblade technology during the same period. This interaction between the two flaking technologies reflects the movements and migrations of ancient populations across the vast eastern part of the Eurasian continent, particularly in northern China, during the Upper Paleolithic phase.

Key words: Xiachuan site, Upper Paleolithic, simple core-flake industry, core, flaking technology