Lithic raw material quality of Middle Pleistocene artefacts from the Han River, Danjiangkou Reservoir Region, central China

Abstract

The East Asian Acheulean is often considered distinct from African and European Acheulean technologies as large cutting tools (LCTs) are thicker and heavier on average. This distinction is generally true, but exceptions occur, particularly in thickness, as more Chinese sites are reported. It has been suggested that the raw materials available in East Asia have played a part in determining this dissimilarity. Extensive raw material studies on East Asian technologies have not yet been done to determine if this is indeed the case. It is thus important to investigate the impact of raw materials quality on the East Asian Acheulean. This paper focuses on raw material attributes for LCTs from the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region, central China (DRR), with specific focus on Middle Pleistocene artefacts from Terrace 3 of the Han River. Extensive experimental studies were done to determine raw material attributes and how those attributes affect the knapping process in the creation of LCTs. A set of variables was recorded for the experimental tools and compared with a sample of archaeological LCTs. The variables recorded included: the impurity encounter rates of various raw materials, their weathering states, grain sizes and shapes. The results indicated that hominids occupying the DRR exhibited selective behaviours for the raw materials they used to make LCTs, despite not having a wide variety of materials from which to select. It is also evident that they showed adaptability and made strategic decisions with regards to the selected raw materials for manufacture of LCTs to meet their needs.