Abstract: The Ranjialukou Paleolithic site (29°55′14″236″N ,107°44′11″256″E, 1702174 m a. s. l. ) is located in Dujiaba village, Fengdu County, Chongqing. The site was discovered in 1994 and excavated in 2000, 2001 and 2005. It is so far the largest and most important Paleolithic site found in the Three Gorges Region in central South China.
The site lies at the base of a gravel layer of the forth terrace on the left bank of the Changjiang ( Yangtze River) . The overlying sediment is more than a 20m thick laterite, comprised of silt2clay with many large, hard calcified nodules. Laterite seems to originate from gray sludge that poured into fissures of the red earth. White calcium nodules later would form in the fissures after the sediment cooled. This depositional history is unique to South China. Based on the presence of the terrace and its sediment, the geological age of the site is estimated to be late Middle Pleistocene.
Two hundred and two stone artifacts were excavated from the site in 2005. The lithic assemblage is comprised of cores, flakes, chunks and modified pieces. Among the lithic artifacts, cores and flakes produced by a technique of“throwing against an anvil”are noted. Raw materials used for this type of flake detachment are highly rounded flat quartzite cobbles locally available in the riverbed. These types of specimens are well known from Late Paleolithic and Early Neolithic sites in mainland South China, and similar artifacts were also found from sites in Taiwan. Here we propose a technical term—— Yangtze technique——for this type of flaking method , believing that it is an unique and efficient flaking technique applied to the highly rounded cobbles in South China where raw materials of this kind are numerous due to the strong river water energies, especially in the Yangtze River region.
The identification of this unique flaking technique is significant for the study of the development of prehistoric lithic technology in South China, the survival strategies adopted by human groups in certain environments , and human migrations and cultural influences in the vast region.

Key words: Stone artifacts; Yangtze flaking technique; Paleolithic; Ranjialukou site; Three Gorges Region