Abstract: Numerous prehistoric lithic industries have been unearthed in China, many of which have yielded quite different characteristics from those artifacts found in Europe and Africa. Past research has shown that typology itself is not very capable of decoding and interpreting technological behaviors of prehistoric humans. Moreover, the morphology and composition of stone assemblages are sometimes so different from those in Europe and the Near East that the problem of scientific dialogue among researchers in all of these regions remains for long time. In order to study more deeply the culture and behavior of prehistory French prehistorians have proposed and developed a new methodology called “lithic technological study ,” which focuses on analyzing the intra- and inter-cultural relationships between stone artifacts. This method enabled us to explore the specific techniques and rules that operate in a system of lithic production, which reveals the cognitive character and technological behavior used by prehistoric humans.
By applying the method of “lithic technological study”, this paper reflects a partial research result of the first authorπs dissertation on the stone assemblage of the Guanyindong site, Qianxi County, Guizhou Province. It focuses on a single platform core and shows how this “lithic technological study” can determine different series of de?bitage and the pattern of flake removal based on the negative characteristics left on the core. As part of this integral analysis , a comparison was made between the core’s reconstructed flake removals and those flakes unearthed from the site. The purpose of this work was to reconstruct as accurately as possible the core’s cha?ne ope?ratoire of manufacture/use. This study clearly reveals the feasibility of applying this method to Chinese prehistoric materials especially to stone artifacts.

Key words: Guanyindong; De?bitage; cha?ne ope?ratoire; Lithic technological study