Abstract
The timing and behavioral markers of the Upper Paleolithic in different parts of the world are of great importance to research on modern human dispersals. The pattern of behavioral developments in the Upper Paleolithic in northern China differs in important ways from the patterns observed in West Eurasia, Africa, and South Asia. Shuidonggou (SDG), a cluster of Paleolithic sites in northern China, contains several of the most important Upper Paleolithic sites in the region. Various localities yield evidence of three major cultural components dated by 14C, uranium-series, and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) methods to between roughly 46 ka and 10 ka. The oldest component, blade assemblages with western Eurasian early Upper Paleolithic characteristics, appears to be intrusive from Siberia and/or Mongolia, beginning at least 41 ka (e.g., SDG 1 and SDG 9). Advanced core and flake assemblages may mark the appearance of an indigenous Late Paleolithic of North China beginning at around 33 ka (e.g., SDG 2 and SDG 8). Finally, around 10.5 ka, microblade technology arrived in the area (SDG 12), although we are not sure of its origins at present. Other typical Upper Paleolithic cultural remains, such as bone tools and body decorations, have been found at various localities in the SDG area as well (e.g., ostrich eggshell beads from SDG 2, 7, and 8). Information from this cluster of occupations increases our understanding of cultural variability, adaptation, and demographic dynamics of modern humans in Late Pleistocene northern Asia.
Highlights
Documenting the chronology and material cultural markers of Upper Paleolithic (~ 45 ka to 10 ka) assemblages in different geographic regions is vital for understanding population dispersals and technological diffusion, cultural diversity, and the behavioral adaptive strategies of Pleistocene modern humans (Homo sapiens)
More dates will certainly change the details of the chronology of the SDG sites, current data shows human occupations in the Shuidonggou valley date to two broad periods: late Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3, c. 46–27 ka), and the early Holocene
Analyses of sediment grain size and pollen samples from SDG 2 demonstrate that a paleo-lake formed in the Shuidongou valley during late MIS 3
Summary
Documenting the chronology and material cultural markers of Upper Paleolithic (~ 45 ka to 10 ka) assemblages in different geographic regions is vital for understanding population dispersals and technological diffusion, cultural diversity, and the behavioral adaptive strategies of Pleistocene modern humans (Homo sapiens). The archaeological remains from the lower cultural layers A and B at SDG 1 were collected and reported as a single assemblage It is possible, even likely, that different lithic complexes (blade and core and flake) from multiple archaeological layers are present in the 5 m-thick stratum (Li, Kuhn et al 2013). Similar lithic artifact types including blade cores, well-made endscrapers, various bipolar products, and ostrich eggshell beads were found at SDG 2, the closest locality. Considering that most of the lithic artifacts were found on or near the surface, this locality is more like a surface site and the validity of OSL dates from the archaeological layer is questionable. With the new series of radiocarbon dates the story of hunter-gatherer adaptation at SDG 12 should be reframed
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