Abstract: The Taiziling Paleolithic locality, buried in the second terrace near the Prince Mausoleum of the Qing Dynasty is located in the Sungezhuang village, Jixian County, Tianjin City. The locality was discovered in April 2005, with a joint research team involved in Paleolithic investigations in Jixian County from April to May that year.
Three stratigraphic layers of the second terrace were identified at this locality with a total thickness of more than 1 m. Archaeological materials were mainly collected from the 2nd layer, a light yellow silt with gravels 0.3-0.5 m in thickness. A total of 58 stone artifacts were unearthed. The stone assemblage includes cores (n=5), flakes (n=42), chunks (n=5) and retouched tools (n=6). The general features of these artifacts are summarized as follows. Lithic raw materials exploited at the locality were locally available from ancient riverbeds, with chert being ?the ?predominant ?raw ?material?(72.5%). ?The ?principal ?flaking ?technique ?was ?direct ?hammer? percussion with core preparation, especially for microblade cores. Most stone artifacts were standardized? in? shape,? finely? retouched, ?and? small? in ?size,? and? most ?tool ?blanks? were ?flakes. ?Only? three ?retouched ?tool ?types? were ?identified:? scrapers,? points? and ?picks. ?Modified ?tools? appear ?to ?be? retouched? by ?hammer ?percussion ?and? pressure ?techniques, ?with ?tools ?retouched? primarily? on ?the? dorsal surface.
It can be inferred from these materials that this stone assemblage shows a close relationship with the Flake Tool Industry (Main Industry) in North China, but bears some characteristics of the Microblade Industry there. Geomorphological and chronological comparison within Jixian County indicates a Late Pleistocene or Early Holocene date. The Taiziling locality provides important data for the study of human adaptive strategies and patterns in this region, and offers evidence? for? the? study? of? lithic? techniques? in? the? Late? Pleistocene/Early? Holocene? in? North? China as well as the cultural relationship between northern and northeastern China during the Pleistocene.

Key words: Jixian County; Tianjin; Taiziling; Microblade; Late Pleistocene; Early Holocene