Abstract: Experimental knapping is an essential method in the study of prehistoric lithics. It not only plays a fundamental role in typological and technological studies, but also helps us understand the development of hominid cognitive capacities and transmitted knowledge. This article looks at the development of experimental knapping, and reviews its modern application. Although experimental knapping work has a long history in both Europe and North America, this method has developed in two different directions. The traditional approach has been inherited and developed in Europe, while American scholars have introduced mechanically-controlled systems into knapping experiments. In this paper, recent knapping experiments of the Dingcun industry of Shanxi Province are introduced as an example, including the design of the experiment, the process and record of its results, and the conclusion of the experiments. Hornfels is not a rock commonly used in Paleolithic China, but it has a very high proportion among raw materials used at Dingcun (94.7%). Knapping experiments can show what kind of characteristics a rock such as hornfels may have had causing it to be the site’s principal raw material. The knapping technique used in the Dingcun industry is a long-standing controversy, as large wide flakes (typical of Dingcun) were supposedly produced by the block-on-block method. By comparing experimental products and archaeological artifacts, the knapping experiment gives us two important clues about the techno-economic behaviors of the Dingcun industry. The first is the possibility of producing large flakes by using hard-hammer percussion, and will help in resolving the debate about the block-on-block (or anvil) technique.. When large flakes were first reported from Dingcun, it was believed that only the block-on-block method could produce such flakes, but now it seems that hard-hammer percussion was more likely. The second clue is to show that soft-hammer percussion was not applied in the Dingcun industry: hard-hammer percussion is the main technique in both core reduction (débitage) and in the shaping (fa?onnage) process. But there are some limitations to this method. For instance, thee lack of high-quality raw materials has been regarded as one of the main factors that influenced the development of Paleolithic stone-working techniques in China. Knapping experiments can help solve these questions. Stone knapping is a skill that is not easy to learn or conduct, and usually involves a long training period.

Key words: Prehistoric archaeology; Experimental; Knapping; Dingcun; Hornfels; Hard-hammer percussion