Abstract: This study examines lithic artifacts recovered from four Upper Palaeolithic sites from south- ern Shandong, and the preliminary results suggest that lithic industries in the study region are more complex than we previously thought. Different techniques can be recognized, which make it apparent that the concept of a “Fenghuangling Culture” is no longer relevant. Microblade technology was clearly defined based on three sites: Fenghuangling, Qingfengling, and Wanghailou. At Wanghailou the use of raw materials and reduction techniques are distinctive, possibly indicating a variation of the Shan- dong microblade industries. The Heilongtan site represents a flake-core reduction technology, resulting in a non-microblade tradition at the site, a finding which contradicts previous arguments that this site has yielded a microblade assemblage. Investigationsfrom additional fieldwork at the Heilongtan site in- dicate that microblade remains previously collected from this site derive from secondary deposits, as a result of erosion from upland microblade locations, such as Wanghailou.

Key words: Microblade; Iithic technology; Fenghuangling Culture; Shandong