Abstract: The Nihewan Basin is located in the adjacent zone between northwestern Hebei and northeastern Shanxi provinces. The northwestern margin of the Cenjiawan platform, which preserves the profiles of the Nihewan Bed in good condition, is the most densely populated area with early Paleolithic localities in the basin. During the spring and summer of 2007, the authors conducted a three-month survey in the northwestern margin of the Cenjiawan platform. Some 16 Paleolithic localities were discovered in Xujiapo-Shuicaowan, Madigou and southwestern Guanting, with 15 buried in the Nihewan Bed and 1 identified from the terrace of Huliu River. In addition, 68 lithic artifacts and 47 mammalian fossil fragments were collected from these localities. Lithic raw materials were collected from bedrock outcrops, and most artifacts were small in size. Hard hammer percussion was the flaking technique, and flakes were the predominant category among artifact classes. Scrapers were crudely modified on flakes by hard hammer percussion. It can be inferred from the characteristics of the lithic artifacts that the lithic technology exhibits close ties with the small lithic tool tradition in North China. Judging from the stratigraphic comparison among the Paleolithic localities in adjacent areas in the Cenjiawan platform, the localities in the Nihewan Bed can be attributed to the Early Pleistocene, while the Xiaoshuiliang localities that are buried in the 3rd terrace of the Huliu River may belong to the Late Pleistocene. Among the 16 localities, the Shaliang, Miaolianggou, Madigou E2 and E3 localities are worthy of further excavation. These new discoveries support the idea that the Nihewan Basin is the key region of early human dispersal, occupation in North China, which will provide valuable clues for tracing the migration and adaptation of early humans.

Key words: Stone artifacts; Survey; Madigou; Cenjiawan platform; Nihewan Basin