Abstract:

Understanding site formation processes is crucial for interpreting archaeological context patterns and hominin behaviors as these affect the preserved condition of a site and the integrity of archaeological remains. Over the past decade, studies on site taphonomic history from fluvio-lacustrine sequences in the Nihewan Basin of North China have been carried out, which offer an important opportunity to investigate human evolution and adapted behaviors from Early to mid-Pleistocene in East Asia. However, archaeological site context patterns regarding early human occupation within the river terraces after the Nihewan old lake died out still need to be further addressed. In recent years, a large number of archaeological sites from river terraces after the lake dried up have been unearthed in Yuxian, a sub-basin in the southeastern part of the Nihewan Basin. This study focuses on the recently discovered Donggou site from there and probes into its archaeo-stratigraphic sequence and site formation processes in order to evaluate its taphonomic history and site integrity.

The Donggou site was buried in the lower part of the second terrace on the right bank of the Donggou tributary of the Dian’an River (a tributary of Huliu River). AMS ¹⁴C and preliminary OSL dating results show that human occupation most probably took place in the early part of the Late Pleistocene. Geomorphological and sedimentary characteristics indicate that the Donggou archaeological remains are preserved within fine-grain deposits of silty clay that formed after recession of the Nihewan old lake. Multiple indicators, including spatial distribution patterns of lithic artifacts and animal bones, weathering and abrasion conditions of lithic stone technological composition, as well as debitage size curve, suggest that the Donggou archaeological remains were not strongly transformed. The artifacts have not undergone significant transportation or alteration by high-energy hydraulic flow. It should be noted that the gravitational agency has led to the distribution and orientation patterns of artifacts to some extent. In a word, the Donggou site belongs to a near-primary context with relatively high site integrity, that indicates the Donggou occurrences are suitable for studying early human technological strategies and adapted behaviors after the Nihewan Paleolake dried out.

In addition, this research shows that multiple rivers were developed within the Basin after the old lake recession, and many archaeological sites were buried inside river terraces. Further investigations of these sites will be of great significance for the exploration of human behavioral adaptation at the site, human adaptation to archaeological landscapes of river terraces, and for constructing the evolutionary trajectory of technological strategies of early humans in the Nihewan Basin and North China.

Key words: Site formation, Terrace, Late Pleistocene, Donggou site, Nihewan Basin