Abstract:

Through the field investigation of Paleolithic sites in the Gao’an Basin, Jiangxi Province, twenty-three Paleolithic sites have been found on the second and third terraces of the Jinjiang river, along with the collection of 96 stone artifacts. The types of stone artifacts include cores (n=9), flakes (n=39), incomplete flakes (n=12), tools (n=31), and chunks (n=5), and all of them were made on vein quartz. Freehand hard hammer percussion was the primary flaking technique, with the supplement of bipolar technique. Scrapers are the predominant tool type (n=28), followed by a small number of denticulates (n=2) and borer (n=1). Most of tools were produced on flakes (61.3%), others were made on chunks (38.7%), with an overall limited degree of retouching. The lithic assemblages are mainly small (75.0%) in size, followed by miniaturized (18.8%) and medium size (6.2%). In particular, the average size for cores is 43.6×32.9×25.1 mm, for complete flakes is 29.1×22.4×9.3 mm, and for tools is 33.1×25.8×13.1 mm. The technological and morphological characteristics of lithic assemblages are similar among different sites, all of which show a consistent small-flake tools industry. In addition, all artifacts were either yielded from the homogenous red clay deposits or discovered on the surface of these deposits. According to the dating results of Shanghu site in the region, it is very likely that the occupation of the Gao’an Basin could be traced back to ca. 26,000 years ago, i.e., the early stage of the Marine Isotope Stage 2 (MIS 2). The discovery of Paleolithic sites in the Gao’an Basin shed important lights on the migration and interaction of populations between northern and southern China, as well as the adaptational strategies of hominins under the extreme climatic events of the MIS 2, especially the Last Glacial Maximum.

Key words: Gao’an Basin, Vein quartz, Small flake tool industry, MIS 2