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Blade and microblade industry at Helong Dadong, north-east China, during Marine Isotope Stage 2

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2024

Ting Xu ,
Jian-Ping Yue Open the ORCID record for Jian-Ping Yue [Opens in a new window] ,
Hai-Long Zhao ,
Ling-Bo Gu ,
Jun-Yi Ge ,
Yao Li ,
Shi-Xia Yang ,
Michael Petraglia  and
Xing Gao
Ting Xu
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Museology, Liaoning University, Shenyang, P.R. China
Jian-Ping Yue*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China School of History, Anhui University, Hefei, P.R. China
Hai-Long Zhao
Affiliation:
School of Archaeology and Museology, Liaoning University, Shenyang, P.R. China
Ling-Bo Gu
Affiliation:
Jilin Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Changchun, P.R. China
Jun-Yi Ge
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
Yao Li
Affiliation:
Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, P.R. China
Shi-Xia Yang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
Michael Petraglia
Affiliation:
Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia School of Social Science, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., USA
Xing Gao
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P.R. China
*
*Author for correspondence ✉ [email protected]
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Abstract

Characterised by the extensive use of obsidian, a blade-based tool inventory and microblade technology, the late Upper Palaeolithic lithic assemblages of the Changbaishan Mountains are associated with the increasingly cold climatic conditions of Marine Isotope Stage 2, yet most remain poorly dated. Here, the authors present new radiocarbon dates associated with evolving blade and microblade toolkits at Helong Dadong, north-east China. At 27 300–24 100 BP, the lower cultural layers contain some of the earliest microblade technology in north-east Asia and highlight the importance of the Changbaishan Mountains in understanding changing hunter-gatherer lifeways in this region during MIS 2.

Keywords

East AsiaChangbaishan MountainsUpper PalaeolithicLast Glacial Maximummicroblade technologyobsidian
Type
Research Article
Information
Antiquity , Volume 98 , Issue 402 , December 2024 , pp. 1487 - 1504
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Antiquity Publications Ltd

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