Abstract: The Chuanfandong Paleolithic cave site is situated on the western slope of the Wanshouyan Hills in Sanming City, Fujian province. It is 3 m above the ground level, open to the west, 39 m long, 30 m wide, and 3 -7 m high inside.Deposits in the cave can be divided into 10 layers and 3 groups.Stone artifacts and faunal remains were unearthed from Layers 5—7.
An important discovery from the site is an artificial ground surface on limestone blocks, currently 120 m2 preserved.These limestone blocks exhibit signs of slight weathering and vary in size, from 55 to 2 cm in diameter.They were casually arranged in a single layer without any observable pattern, and some lithic artifacts were found in the spaces between these blocks.It is obvious that they were not moved and accumulated there by water, but were laid intentionally by human beings instead.Such construction remains have never been discovered in China before.
Two cultural levels were identified at the site.The Lower Level includes Layers 7 and 6.The majority of artifacts (295)were unearthed from Layer 7; only a few (8)were collected from Layer 6.In addition, at least 80 pieces were found on the limestone-block surface.These artifacts can be classified into cores, flakes, hammerstones, scrapers, chopper-chopping tools, points, cleavers, chipped pebbles, chunks and debris (Table 1).Large and medium ones dominate in this assemblage.Most of the retouched pieces are scrapers fabricated on flakes and were modified multi-directionally.These characteristics make this assemblage very unique among Paleolithic cultures in China.
Seventy-nine artifacts were unearthed from the Upper Level, i.e., Layer 5, including cores, flakes, hammerstones, anvil, scrapers, chopper-chopping tools, chunks and debris.In addition, one polished bone-point, one antler shovel shaped by scrapping, and one antler tip with cutting marks, probably a piece of artwork, were also collected from this level.The age of the Upper Cultural Level should be younger than that of the Lower Level, but should still be of the Upper Paleolithic.The presence of bone point, antler shovel, and stone saddle quern-like anvil might indicate that this cultural assemblage is transitional toward a higher cultural stage.

Key words: Chuanfandong; Artificial stone ground surface; Lithic artifacts; Bone and antler implements; The Upper Paleolithic