Abstract: A total of 34 pieces of stone artifacts in association with a variety of mammalian fossils were recovered from the Lower Pleistocene sediments at the Shangshazui locality in the Nihewan basin. The artifact categories include cores, flakes, modified pieces, and “chunks”. The first stone artifact at the locality was discovered by Gai Pei in 1972 as reported in Vertebrata PalAsiatica (1974). The artifact is thus among the earliest reported archeological discovery in East Asia. Subsequently, in 1980 the artifact-bearing layer was attributed to the Upper Pleistocene and correlated with a terrace on the Sanggan He (River). Most recently, further research at the Shangshzui locality indicates that the artifact-bearing layer is in fact attributable to the Lower Pleistocene sediments of the Nihewan Formation.These are now known to be situated between Jaramillo and Olduvai subchrons, thus suggesting a maximum age 1.6-1.7 million years old.

Key words: Stone artifact; Lower Pleistocene; Shangshazui; Nihewan basin