Paleolithic culture and human interactions on the Southwest Silk Road

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2024.0095

Abstract

Abstract:

Southwestern Silk Road is a vital link connecting southwestern China, the Tibetan Plateau, mainland Southeast Asia, South Asia, and southern Central Asia, all of which offers a crucial cross-regional perspective on Paleolithic human migration, diffusion, and interaction. This study reconstructs the complex network of the Silk Road by examining historical documents, modern transportation networks, and remote sensing imagery. Our reconstruction indicates that the spatial pattern of the network of Southwest Silk Road was substantially affected by the regional geographical environment, and during the Paleolithic period, early hominins relied more on the natural geographic corridors and natural resources to support their survival and developmental needs. From this evidence, we systematically review archaeological discoveries and research at the Middle Paleolithic and Early Upper Paleolithic periods along the Southwest Silk Road. The study explores the evolutionary processes of lithic technologies and cultural patterns across different regions, as well as the potential dispersal and interaction of ancient populations. Overall, during the Middle Paleolithic and Early Upper Paleolithic, southwestern China, the Tibetan Plateau and other regions in this southeast part of Asia exhibit periodic changes and innovations in lithic and other cultural technologies. Middle Paleolithic technologies are present across most regions along the Southwest Silk Road, characterized by a high degree of complexity and diversity. These varied technologies may indicate potential inter-regional migrations and diversified adaptive behaviors of archaic humans, such as Neanderthals, Denisovans. Bladelet and miniaturized lithic assemblages are key features of Early Upper Paleolithic sites along the road and are closely related to early modern humans. Overall, the different regions of this southeast part of Asia were clearly interconnected, serving as primary routes for migration and dispersal of archaic and early modern humans along what would later form the southwest Silk Road. Future research guided by the concept of the southwest Silk Road, particularly through cross-regional comparative studies, will deepen our understanding of the evolutionary history of early humans in Southwest China and the Tibetan Plateau.

Key words: Southwest Silk Road, Middle Paleolithic, Early Upper Paleolithic, Archaic humans, Early modern humans

CLC Number:

K871

LI Hao, XIAO Peiyuan, PENG Peiming, WANG Yuqing, CHEN Qingyi, Ikram QAYUM, JIA Zhenxiu, RUAN Qijun, CHEN Fahu. Paleolithic culture and human interactions on the Southwest Silk Road[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2024, 43(06): 979-992.

Figures/Tables 2

References 93

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