Guomo open-air site (15–12 ka) in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, southern China: A new cobble-based industry for rethinking the definition of “Hoabinhian”

Abstract

The Hoabinhian technocomplex is one of the most discussed topics in the Paleolithic research of Southeast Asia because it is the most representative phenomenon in terms of cobble tools. Recent discoveries of Hoabinhian sites in Yunnan Province, southwest China largely expanded its tempo-spatial presence in this part of the world. Whether Hoabinhian sites are present in other parts of southern China has remained elusive. Located close to northern Vietnam, where more than 150 Hoabinhian sites were reported to have been discovered since the 1920s, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China is a strategic area for exploring the issues concerning Hoabinhian phenomenon in this Chinese territory. This article presents a novel cobble-based industry of a recently discovered site—the Guomo open-air site, situated in the China-Vietnam border area. The lithic assemblages from layers 3 and 4 were dated to around 15–12 ka by the OSL dating method, and they manifest consistent and identical typo-technological characteristics. Four reduction sequences were defined for this lithic production, including 1) partial unifacial knapping on cobbles to produce various types of cutting tools; 2) cobble-split débitage via bipolar-on-anvil technique to produce semi-cobbles, and then they are unifacially shaped into unifaces; 3) cobble-throwing débitage by the throwing technique to obtain flat cortical flake blanks and tools; 4) recurrent unidirectional flaking on single-platform cores without preparation. Considering limited similarities and remarkable difference between “Hoabinhian” lithic industries of South China and of Southeast Asia, we suggest that Guomo site is an important case to raise the question of the definition of “Hoabinhian” and to study the variability of cobble-tool industries in this vast region.