Microblade Industry Research Articles

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

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.

Chronology of the Paleolithic site of Xibaimaying in the Nihewan Basin, North China, inferred from optical dating of fine-grained quartz

The Paleolithic site of Xibaimaying (XBMY), once considered the youngest flake tool site within the Nihewan Basin, North China, is an ideal archive to study the chronological relationship between flake tool and microblade industries in the Nihewan Basin during the Upper Palaeolithic, but the previous ages obtained for the site remain controversial. From 2015 to 2019, three areas at two archaeological localities (XBMY-I and XBMY-II) of the site were excavated, and well-preserved fossils and flake tools were unearthed. In this study, a total of 26 samples were collected from the three areas for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating using a single-aliquot regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol on fine-grained quartz. A shared ‘Standardized growth curve’ (SGC) for a section was constructed to reduce the time required for D e estimation. The long-term weighted average water contents of the samples during their burial period were estimated based on the in-situ water contents of continuous samples from a nearby borehole. All the OSL ages were modelled via Bayesian statistics using the OxCal software, modifying the OSL ages with stratigraphic constraints in each section. The results show that the cultural layer bearing flake tool assemblages falls within the period of 122–36 ka, indicating that the flake tool industry of the Xibaimaying site is comparable to that of the Youfangbei (108–86 ka), Banjingzi (∼86 ka) and Xinmiaozhuang (75–63 ka) sites, rather than the youngest one in the Nihewan basin, which explains why the Xibaimaying site is characterized as pure flake tool culture without any ‘advanced’ trait. The OSL dating results also shed new light on the study of sedimentary processes in the Xibaimaying site area. The different deposition rates (0.01–1.61 mm/a) for the sediments at the three newly excavated areas imply complex geomorphologic processes in the site area.

Northeast China was not the place for the origin of the Northern Microblade Industry: A comment on

Yue et al. (2021) have proposed a model of two Upper Palaeolithic industries in Northeast China called the “Initial Microblade Industry” and the “Northern Microblade Industry”, with the latter originating from the former, and its spread to the neighbouring regions of Northeast Asia. We have found several inconsistencies in their factual data and methodology, and therefore the conclusions reached by Yue et al. (2021) cannot be accepted at face value. Using the most reliable evidence, the oldest true microblade assemblages are known from the Korean Peninsula. We suggest that this region is the more probable centre of diffusion of microblade technology in mainland Northeast Asia, including China and the Russian Far East.

The cultural sequence of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in northern China

Elucidating the cultural transition of the Middle and Upper Palaeolithic in northern China (Northeast and North China) is extremely important in considering the emergence and diffusion of Anatomically Modern Humans in East Asia. This article discusses 25 assemblages from 11 sites before and after ca. 42–40 cal ka in northern China. Each assemblage was given the techno-cultural category of “industry” (Industries D, DQ, DP, DL, PF, B, TB, UP, M, MO) based on the scheme of PaleoAsia modes. The PaleoAsia modes are an expanded version of J. J. Shea's modes, which describe and categorize flaking and lithic tool-production technologies. Following the chronological dating of assemblages, this study proposes that an industrial transition took place from the Middle Palaeolithic (MP) to Upper Palaeolithic (UP) in northern China. Characteristic technical elements were noted for each assemblage, including the Levallois technique, polished bone tool, personal ornament, blade technique, and UP tools. The following four stages were established for the abovementioned industrial transition in northern China: MP (before 41.5–40.0 cal ka), IUP (41.5–40.0 cal ka), EUP (40.0–28.0 cal ka), and MUP/LUP (after 28.0–27.0 cal ka). With the Exception of the last stage, which is associated with a microblade industry, the main industry of each stage was affiliated with denticulate tools. As such, there was no discontinuity in the technological traditions found between these stages in northern China. Rather, industries continuously and gradually shifted from the MP to UP; that is, UP techno-elements were incrementally introduced. To understand the drivers behind this industrial transition, it is first necessary to verify whether anatomically modern humans migrated to northern China during the MP and if they then maintained the group of denticulate tool industries until the UP.

Поздний палеолит Приморского региона после последнего оледенения

Paleolithic sites in the Russian Primorye appeared not earlier than 18,000 cal. BP. In the territories to the south and southwest, there are a large number of sites with microblade industries dating back to the time before the beginning of LGM. The largest number of dated sites falls at the beginning of LGM (24,000-20,000 cal. BP). Researchers suggest that after 20,000 and up to 15,000 cal. BP, due to the changes in climate, there was an outflow of population from the Korean Peninsula and from northeast China. In Korea, the most prominent representatives of the post-glacial lithic industries are the Hopyeong-dong, Hahwagye-ri, Songdu-ri, and Gigok sites, in northeast China—Datong and Yuafang. The industrial complexes of these sites are characterized by wedge-shaped microcores, end scrapers, burins, punctures, drills, leaf-shaped bifaces, arrowheads, and retouched microblades. In the Russian Primorye, the closest parallels to these complexes are found in the collections of the Ustinovka group of sites. The materials of the early sites, Suvorovo 4, Ustinovka 5, 7 (18,000-16,000 cal. BP) demonstrate direct parallels with the industries of the Hopeyong-dong and Hahwagye-ri sites (25,000-19,000 cal. BP). Later Paleolithic complexes, Suvorovo 3, Ustinovka 6, Ilistaya 1, and Gorbatka 3, are similar to the industries of the Korean Songduri and Gigok sites, and the Chinese Datong and Yuafang sites. Due to the cold period, mobility of ancient man increases rapidly, he actively began to develop coastal areas freed from the sea. Along the coastal strip, there were migrations to the neighboring territories of the Russian Primorye. This process was repeated and was active in both directions.

A consideration of the spatiotemporal distribution of microblade industries on the Tibetan Plateau

The Tibetan Plateau is one of the last areas populated by modern humans because of its harsh environment. Due to the paucity of reliably dated archaeological sites, the history of the peopling of Tibet is unclear. However, more than 110 microblade sites discovered on the Plateau indicate large-scale migration. This paper reviews microblade assemblages in seven geographical regions in terms of the specific techno-typologies, and divides them into three types. Based upon results obtained from 17 archaeological sites and techno-typological comparisons, we argue that microblade sites on the Plateau fall within three periods, 14-10 ka BP, 8-7 ka BP and 5-3 ka BP. The techno-typology of sites in the first period is still unclear. Assemblages are dominated by flake blank exploitation cores represented by wedge-shaped nuclei during the second period. Conical microblade cores and pottery coexisted during the latest period. A combination of chronology, techno-typology and the locations of microblade sites discovered on and around the Tibetan Plateau supports the conclusion that people bearing microblade technology originating in North China migrated to the Plateau via a northern route.

Каменный инвентарь неолитических комплексов с плоскодонной керамикой лесной зоны Зауралья

Purpose. The earliest sites with different variants of flat-bottomed ceramics in the forest zone of Trans-Urals and Western Siberia date back to the 7th – the beginning of the 6th millennium BC. To understand the process of neolithization, it is important to ascertain the succession of their lithic industries with previous Mesolithic. Results. A review of the Early Neolithic stone inventory reveals two distinct areas in the forest zone. The northern one (Lower Ob, Surgut Ob and Konda basin) is characterized by three technologies: direct percussion flaking and block-on-block knapping of quartz, with inexpressive rarely retouched tools such as scrapers and scaled pieces; percussion-abrasive technique for polished knives, arrowheads, adzes and axes; punch technique for flint inset bladelets, without any arrowheads. Although investigated Mesolithic sites are not numerous in this area, it is clear that the first two technologies arose in the North since that time, when the microblade technique was the dominant one. Lithic assemblages of Early Neolithic settlements in the southern forest zone (Middle Trans-Urals) are generally analogous to the local Mesolithic. The latter included the microblade industry similar to the northern one but supplemented by polished axes. In the Early Neolithic it was completed by arrowheads (tanged points). The inventory of Early Neolithic sites in the Ob-Irtysh forest-steppe region with similar flat-bottomed ceramics almost exclusively contains the flint blade industry resembling the Mesolithic one of the area. Conclusion. Therefore, it is possible to trace traditions and innovations in stone-processing based on three groups of features. These are the types of available stone raw material and their own appropriate technologies, the preservation degree of microblade industry, the nomenclature and typology of implements. According to these traits, in each of the three districts, the Early Neolithic stone industry inherited traditions of the local Mesolithic, but developed in its own way.

Re-thinking the evolution of microblade technology in East Asia: Techno-functional understanding of the lithic assemblage from Shizitan 29 (Shanxi, China).

The lithic assemblage from Shizitan 29, a late Upper Paleolithic open-air site in Shanxi, China, provides evidence for the earliest, well-dated microblade production in East Asia, ca. 26/24 Ka cal BP. To pursue a behavioral rather than traditional typological understanding of this key adaptive technology, we apply a techno-functional approach that enables us to reconstruct the entire operational sequence in behavioral terms through the derivation of technical objectives. This methodology can serve as a model to be applied to other assemblages for greater understanding of the origins and spread of the broadly distributed eastern Asian Late Pleistocene microblade industries. Within the eight cultural layers at Shizitan 29, microblade production abruptly appears at the top of Layer 7 following earlier core-and-flake production, supporting hypotheses of microblade technology arising within adaptive strategies to worsening Late Glacial Maximum environments. Significantly, reconstruction of the operational sequence supports microblade technology being introduced into the North China Loess Plateau from regions further north. It also allows us to re-think microblades’ relationship in behavioral terms with earlier limited examples of East Asian blade production and the evolution and spread of microblade technology, providing new insights into the adaptive relationships between subsequent microblade productions.

Каменные индустрии рубежа плейстоцена – голоцена в долине Среднего Енисея (по материалам стоянки Бюза II)

Purpose. The Krasnoyarsk reservoir having flooded the lowest terraces of the Yenisei River, many archaeological sites were disturbed and destroyed, so archaeological data about the period of the Final Pleistocene to the Early Holocene on the territory of Central Siberia became scarce. Nowadays, our knowledge about this period is based on the materials from the sites around Krasnoyarsk city, such as Eleneva cave, Shalunin Byk, the upper layers of Sliznevo site and Listvenka site, and the middle part of the Krasnoyarsk reservoir area: Aieshka I, Kurtak II, Buzunova, Bateni, etc., and, probably, the territorial gap caused by Krasnoyarsk Dam. The Birusinka site and Byuza II, which were discovered in 2014 in the down part of Krasnoyarsk reservoir, prove that. We aimed to describe the findings of Byuza II, identify their types and date them. Results. This article summarizes the complex investigation of the Buza II site. Nowadays, Byuza II is the only one Early Holocene site in the lower part of the Krasnoyarsk reservoir. The site contained numerous findings – about 2000 artifacts were excavated from the cultural layer and 800 were picked from the costal shallow in 2016. Among others, the core collection includes wedgeshaped microcores and edge-faceted microcores on microblades. Fragments of big blades were found in the excavation area, too, which helped to reveal the existence of big cores within the site area. The material collection includes similar fragments of big cores. The cultural layer also had angel burins, transverse burins, burins on concave retouched truncation, sub-rectangular chisel-like tools, medium sized graftoirs, scraper-like tools, burins and retouched flakes. Such tools as scrapers, burins and chisel-like tools were also picked from the coastal shallow. Just one cultural layer and typological similar materials in situ point out that all these materials belong to the same complex. Porphyry slabs along the West-East line laid out a stone alignment with the diameter of 0.8–0.9 m. A bone fragment of an ungulate, which was found among the porphyry slabs, has been dated 14 893 ± 77 years ago (UBA-36027). There is a discrepancy between the expected age of the site and the age of the bone fragment found, which is about 5 thousand years. While the date points out to the cold Nyapan Stage, according to stratigraphy the site refers to the Early Holocene period within 9.7–9.2 thousand years ago. Conclusion. In comparison with a well-known Biryusa site (middle layer), Eleneva cave (15–17 layers), and Bolshaya Slizneva site (2 and 5 layers), Byuza II has no Mesolithic tools and demonstrates the traditional industry of producing big burins. It allows us to use the term "Epipaleolithic" when referring to the site. We conclude that the roots of Epipaleolitic go back to the complexes of the Kokorevo culture and the Final Pleistocene "microblade industry".

New ages for the Upper Palaeolithic site of Xibaimaying in the Nihewan Basin, northern China: implications for small-tool and microblade industries in north-east Asia during Marine Isotope Stages 2 and 3

It has been suggested that the ‘small-tool’ and microblade Upper Palaeolithic industries coexisted in the Nihewan Basin of northern China for about 8–14 000 years during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 2. This inference was based on uranium-series ages of around 15 and 18 ka for bovid teeth recovered from the ‘latest’ small-tool site of Xibaimaying – the youngest occurrence of such tools in the region – and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of the earliest typical microblade site (Youfang: ∼26–29 ka). In this study, we re-dated the Xibaimaying site using single-grain OSL methods and the resulting ages indicate that the cultural layer was deposited 46 ± 3 ka ago, during MIS 3 – more than 20 millennia earlier than previously thought and older also than the so-called earliest ‘primitive’ and typical microblade tools found at Zhiyu (∼31–39 ka cal BP) and Youfang. These new ages for human occupation of Xibaimaying remove support for the parallel development of the small-tool and microblade industries in the Nihewan Basin during the Upper Palaeolithic, but reliable age estimates from additional sites are needed to confidently infer the nature of the chronological relationship between these two Upper Palaeolithic industries and the associated toolmakers.

The background of transitions in microblade industries in Hokkaido, northern Japan

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the archaeological transitions among microblade industries in Hokkaido and to propose some possible relations between human activities and natural environment. Hokkaido is situated in the north of the Japanese archipelago, and the microblade industries in this region lasted approximately from 24,000 to 13,000 cal BP, corresponding to the climatic changes of the MIS2 Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) Cold2 and MIS2 Late Glacial Warm (LG Warm). The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the whole picture of transitions observed in microblade industries through a series of examinations on the size of microblades, maintenance of burins, and the stone tool classes. Results suggest that the following changes in hunting-related stone tools were occurred during the LG Warm: 1) miniaturization in the part of spears (microblades), 2) high frequency in burin maintenance, and 3) appearance of the new hunting weapon (i.e., projectile points), and axes. Then, a preliminary discussion on the possible relations between human activities and the natural environment including some significant climate changes is made referring to the recent studies on the analyses of charred deposits on pottery from the Taisho 3 site which belongs to LG Warm. Given the fact that the alterations in the environment and human activities were coincident, I propose the hypothesis that the transitions in microblade industries in Hokkaido was an outcome of human adaptation to the fluctuation in accessible natural resources caused by the globally occurred warming trend.

Early pottery from the Lingjing site and the emergence of pottery in northern China

In the Chinese context, pottery that predates ca. 9000 14C BP is referred to as “early pottery”. Research on the early pottery of China had been conducted mostly in central and southern China; in contrast, research in northern China has been restricted, and only 5 sites had been discovered to date. Therefore, additional data is needed to foster the progress of research on early pottery in northern China. Given this situation, there is great value in the investigation of the many potsherds associated with microblade industry that have been found in secondary sediments of Layer 5 of the Lingjing site in Henan Province, on the Huang-Huai Plain at the southern end of the North China Plain.Based on AMS 14C dates (ca. 9.8 cal ka), typological features of the pottery, and features of the other artifacts found at Lingjing, these potsherds are argued by this paper to be examples of early pottery, meaning that Lingjing constitutes a new site yielding early pottery in northern China. Other than these archaeological results, our research on Lingjing pottery has also yielded primary data on stable carbon/nitrogen isotope analysis and starch residue analysis.On the basis of archaeological research on early pottery, including examples from Lingjing, it appears that pottery in northern China generally emerged at the beginning of the Holocene (11.7 cal ka). Therefore, this emergence of pottery was likely related to the rapid warming just after the end of the last glacial period, after the Younger Dryas. The archaeological evidence also indicates increasing utilization of plant resources and diversification of food resources beginning prior to that time, suggesting that early pottery may have played a major role in this change in subsistence strategy in northern China.Archaeological comparisons between the early pottery of northern and central/southern China show substantial differences. Based on its association with microblade technology and on characteristic features such as vessels with a flat base, this early pottery from northern China may be related to that from regions further north, such as the Russian Far East.

The use of lithic raw materials during the Upper Paleolithic in eastern China: A focus on microblade industries

During the Upper Paleolithic, many sites with microblade industries were distributed across northeastern China and the North China Plain in eastern China. Based on the composition of lithic raw materials (LRMs) and the site distributions of microblade industries, this study defined five territories of human groups in two regions of China: 1) the western Changbai Shan Mountains (Mount Paektu) and Song-Nen Plain in northeastern China and 2) the southern Yanshan Mountains, Yi-Shu River Basin, and western Huang-Huai Plain in the North China Plain. In northeastern China, high-quality LRMs, including various types of igneous rock and obsidian, were used in combination with local LRMs such as flint and agate. Based on the distribution range of high-quality LRMs, the territories of human groups in that region are estimated at 300–450 km. It is believed that residential systems were established for the long-distance transport of LRMs and the long-distance movement of human groups. One such system included microblade technology based on biface and flake-blade reduction systems. In contrast, the territory of human groups in the North China Plain was small, with an area estimated at 100–230 km. Given the numerous small sites in that region, it is believed that human groups moved frequently within their territories because they were highly mobile and dependent on local LRM sources (e.g., flint) near their occupation sites. Human groups might have employed various microcore reduction systems to produce microblades, even from limited LRMs. Preliminary conclusions suggest that the divergent activities of late Upper Paleolithic human groups in eastern China could reflect variations in regional economic strategies and ecological environments between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Younger Dryas.

Mass accumulations of mammoth (mammoth ‘graveyards’) with indications of past human activity in the northern Yana-Indighirka lowland, Arctic Siberia

In recent years, new accumulations of mammoth faunal remains have been discovered in the northern part of the Yana-Indighirka lowland. Such areas are referred to as “mammoth graveyards” since the discovery of the Berelekh complex of geoarchaeological locales. It's been determined that all of these locales contain various amounts of evidence of past human activity associated with the use of bone accumulations as a valuable raw material source (mammoth ivory). These locales indicate that humans were widely spread in Arctic Siberia during the Late Pleistocene (MIS 3 and 2). At least some of these sites could have formed as a result of ancient people hunting mammoths. In this article we discuss two newly discovered sites, which currently represent the northernmost evidence of human presence in the Arctic at the end of the Pleistocene. They were found in the Maksunuokha River valley, to the south of the Shirokostan Peninsula. The Urez-22 site (MKR/U22) is located at 71°42′ N and is currently the northernmost Paleolithic site in the world. The Lake Nikita site (NKL) is situated 40 km away from Urez-22, and both sites contain numerous remains of mammoth. The NKL site material represents the earlier of the two ancient human habitation episodes. This site's age is estimated at ∼13,800 to 13,600 years ago. The NKL site is a complete chronological and cultural “duplicate” of the Berelekh site, which points to a relatively wide spread of this culture in Northeast Asia. New World implements, similar to those found at the Berelekh site and NKL, are known as the Chindadn points. At this point, they represent the only tangible evidence of the cultural connection between the materials from Northeast Asia and Northwest North America. The age of Urez-22 can be estimated at the time slice of ∼14,900 to 13,900 years ago. Archaeological material was encountered in redeposited concentrations, created by a low-energy stream. Artifacts from Urez-22 demonstrate the spread of microblade industry, older than the early Holocene, for the first time in the Siberian Arctic. This new material indicates noticeable cultural originality of the region during the Late Paleolithic and promises success in the future search for Paleolithic sites in the Yana-Indighirka lowland.

Rethinking the origin of microblade technology: A chronological and ecological perspective

There are four hypotheses on the origin of microblade technology in North China: i) that it originated from Siberia before the Last Glacial Maximum; ii) that it emerged in Siberia after the Last Glacial Maximum; iii) that it developed from the long-narrow flakes produced by the long-established knapping tradition in North China; and iv) that it had multi-regional origins, among which, a microblade industry may have emerged from the bipolar technology in northern China. Based on archaeological data from Siberia, Mongolia, the Japanese archipelago, Korean Peninsula, and North China, it is reasonable to say that the technological groundwork of Siberia was more substantial, and the initial microblade technology appeared in Siberia earlier than in the other areas. Microblade technology was involved in core preparation, systematic knapping, soft hammer and indirect/pressure flaking techniques, which were all present in the blade technology in Siberia but hardly ever evidenced in the traditional flaking technology systems in North China. It is well accepted that the microblade technology was closely related the high mobility of foragers to live in harsh environments. The climatic fluctuations of the last glacial in Siberia were more severe than in low latitudes, and placed greater subsistence pressure on hunter–gatherers in Siberia. The advantages of the initial microblade technology in dealing with these hostile circumstances encouraged foragers to employ and develop it, and finally generated its widespread use during the Upper Paleolithic through human migration and cultural transmission in Northeast Asia and North America.

Human activity patterns at the Horokazawa Toma Upper Paleolithic stone tool manufacturing site in the Shirataki obsidian source area: Combining excavation with experimentation

The Horokazawa site locality Toma (HT) is an Upper Paleolithic archeological site situated on a hillside near the Shirataki Akaishiyama obsidian source area, the largest in Japan. Excavations at HT over a period of more than 20 years have produced more than 570,000 artifacts from an area of less than 100 m2. The Horokazawa Toma lithic assemblage was characterized by the Yubetsu technique, which was used to manufacture microblades in Siberia, the Far East, and North America. The assemblage at HT has been dated to the period just after the last glacial maximum, around 15,000 years ago, and when the microblade industry was flourishing in Eastern Asia. As flakes and chips account for 98% of the lithic artifacts, the site was evidently a lithic workshop. In this study, along with examination of excavated materials we identified the source of excavated materials by macroscopic observation and nondestructive analyses, and we experimentally replicated the manufacturing technique to analyze the activities carried at this workshop and infer the distribution network of raw materials and worked stone, beginning with the acquisition of the obsidian.The obsidian came from the East Atelier and Ajisainotaki (especially) sources near the summit of Mt. Akaishiyama. Large angular and slab-like nodules from these sources were likely collected at Hidarinosawa being closer to HT, brought to HT, and processed into large bifaces and boat-shaped blanks for microblade manufacture. Many of these products were exported to other sites. We showed by experiment that the first and second spalls efficiently removed from a large biface by the block-on-block technique. A similar microblade industry based on Shirataki obsidian is found at sites in the Yubetsu River drainage, below HT, and other sites in Hokkaido. In fact, Shirataki obsidian is found at remote sites such as Akatsuki site (eastern part of Hokkaido) and Sokol site (on Sakhalin island), suggesting that raw materials were exchanged between groups of people over long distances. This large distribution network was supported by mass production of blanks for microblade manufacturing at the Toma locality of the Horokazawa site.

Lijiagou and the earliest pottery in Henan Province, China

Abstract

Human dispersal and interaction during the spread of microblade industries in East Asia

Analyses of microblade industries shed light on the human dispersal and technological diffusion in the terminal Upper Paleolithic of East Asia. From ca. 27–17 ka, with the advances of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Mammoth Steppe and its associated mammoth fauna shifted southward. In the wake of these changes, human groups with the Northern Microblade Industries (NMI) also migrated southward to Northeast China. NMI did not appear in North China, so it is presumed that those migrating human groups did not extend their activity areas beyond NE China. Meanwhile, the human groups with small flake tool industries in North China appear to have interacted with those groups with NMI at the ecological border area between NE. China and N. China, and obtained the microblade technology of pressure flaking, wedge-shaped micro-cores, transverse burins with marginal retouch and other elements of NMI, leading to the formation of the microblade industries that are unique to N. China. Technological elements of the NMI that appeared in N. China are regarded as the result of external expansion diffusion. Among the distinct features of the microblade industries in N. China is the microblade technology based on pyramidal micro-cores. This technology was transferred to Southwest Japan. This transfer of microblade technology and its spread across SW Japan was carried out through the materials and information exchange network that had connected N. China and SW Japan since the pre-stage of microblade industry. This diffusion of microblade technology is also regard as an example of external expansion diffusion. From ca. 17–9 ka, human groups that were migrating with NMI through NE China were able to enter N. China because of their flexible “collector” subsistence strategy and high level of adaptability to the environment. The appearance of NMI in N. China is regard as the result of external relocation diffusion. The technological transfer also occurred between the migrating human groups and the indigenous groups. The indigenous ones in turn adopted the technology of NMI, invented small bifacial points. This process is an example of expansion diffusion.

Shirataki obsidian exploitation and circulation in prehistoric northern Japan

Presently, the total number of archaeological obsidian sources in Japan is more than 80, and among them, 21 are in Hokkaido, northern part of the Japanese archipelago (Izuho and Sato 2007). Obsidian was the dominant of lithic raw material in the Upper Paleolithic Hokkaido (35-10 ka cal BP). Out of 21 archaeological obsidian sources in Hokkaido, 4 sources: Shirataki, Oketo, Tokachi, and Akaigawa are the major obsidian sources and the others are minor sources. Shirataki is one of the largest obsidian sources in Northeast Asia and it is well known that Shirataki obsidian was transported outside Hokkaido to Sakhalin and the Paleo-Honshu Island from the Late Upper Paleolithic period. We compiled data of obsidian source analyses conducted to artefacts from Paleolithic sites in Hokkaido, and it became clear that the ratio of Shirataki obsidian in all analyzed materials is more than half (Sato and Yakushige in press). We examined how far Shirataki obsidian was transported in each period: the Early Upper Paleolithic (35-25 ka cal BP) and the Late Upper Paleolithic (25-10 ka cal BP). The Late Upper Paleolithic is divided into three stage, the early Early Microblade Industry (Stage 1: 25-21 ka cal BP), the late Early Microblade Industry (Stage 2: 19-16 ka cal BP), and the Late Microblade Industry (Stage 3: 16-10 ka cal BP). As a result, it is revealed that the distribution areas of Shirataki obsidian did not expand gradually over time, but are different in different lithic industries. In the background of this situation lay the difference of ecological adaptation strategies adopted by the prehistoric people of the time and their movement behavioral strategies.

The northeast Asian origins of the first Americans: Do genes, bones, and stones tell the same story?

Analyses of microblade industries shed light on the human dispersal and technological diffusion in the terminal Upper Paleolithic of East Asia. From ca. 27–17 ka, with the advances of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Mammoth Steppe and its associated mammoth fauna shifted southward. In the wake of these changes, human groups with the Northern Microblade Industries (NMI) also migrated southward to Northeast China. NMI did not appear in North China, so it is presumed that those migrating human groups did not extend their activity areas beyond NE China. Meanwhile, the human groups with small flake tool industries in North China appear to have interacted with those groups with NMI at the ecological border area between NE. China and N. China, and obtained the microblade technology of pressure flaking, wedge-shaped micro-cores, transverse burins with marginal retouch and other elements of NMI, leading to the formation of the microblade industries that are unique to N. China. Technological elements of the NMI that appeared in N. China are regarded as the result of external expansion diffusion. Among the distinct features of the microblade industries in N. China is the microblade technology based on pyramidal micro-cores. This technology was transferred to Southwest Japan. This transfer of microblade technology and its spread across SW Japan was carried out through the materials and information exchange network that had connected N. China and SW Japan since the pre-stage of microblade industry. This diffusion of microblade technology is also regard as an example of external expansion diffusion. From ca. 17–9 ka, human groups that were migrating with NMI through NE China were able to enter N. China because of their flexible “collector” subsistence strategy and high level of adaptability to the environment. The appearance of NMI in N. China is regard as the result of external relocation diffusion. The technological transfer also occurred between the migrating human groups and the indigenous groups. The indigenous ones in turn adopted the technology of NMI, invented small bifacial points. This process is an example of expansion diffusion.