How did the introduction of stemmed points affect mobility and site occupation during the late Pleistocene in Korea?

Abstract

We use models from human behavioral ecology to examine stone artifacts from 23 sites in Korea to investigate mobility and site occupation patterns during the Late Pleistocene. This is an important period because new tools, such as stemmed points and blades, appeared in the archaeological record. We focus on two questions: what changes in foragers’ landscape use were associated with the introduction of new tools? And what changes in mobility and the way people used habitation sites were associated with the new technology? To answer these questions we present quantitative analyses of artifact volumetric density, retouch frequency, composition of toolkits, and artifact raw materials. We explore environmental and demographic contexts by applying paleoclimate simulations and summed probability distribution models. We find that quartz and side scrapers, in addition to cores and choppers, remain dominant in assemblages before and after the introduction of stemmed points throughout the Late Pleistocene. Our results show that forager groups using stemmed points may have been associated with occupation of marginal or extreme environments. Groups with stemmed points were associated with expedient technologies, indicating residential and less mobile behaviors. The environmental context of this technological innovation was a gradual decrease in temperature into the LGM. Population increased before the appearance of stemmed points.