The reporter learned from the Tianjin Municipal Cultural Heritage Protection Center on the 20th that the archaeological excavation of the Paleolithic site of the Prince Tomb in Jizhou District, Tianjin has made new progress, and from October to November 2021, 158 new stone product specimens have been excavated in the area.
Archaeological excavation site of the Paleolithic site of the Prince's Tomb. (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
It is reported that the active archaeological excavation was jointly completed by the Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center, the School of Archaeology of Jilin University and the Jizhou District Cultural Heritage Protection Center. The site is located behind the mountains and faces the river, the terrain is flat, the view is wide, and it has the basic conditions suitable for the activities of ancient humans here, and has found and collected a relatively rich paleolithic stone products in the archaeological survey carried out in 2005 and 2015.
The excavation site of stone products from the Paleolithic ruins of the Prince Tomb. (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
Wang Chunxue, associate professor of the School of Archaeology of Jilin University, introduced that the raw materials for stone products excavated at the Paleolithic site of Taiziling are mainly quartz sandstone and flint, and there are a small amount of quartz, crystal and iron ore; the stone product stripping technology is mainly based on the hammering method, and the smashing method is occasional; the combination of stone product types is very rich, both stone hammers and a large number of stone cores, there are also rich tool types such as choppers, sharp blades, scrapers, and concave defects, and there are also stone chips, stone leaves, and broken blocks.
Stone products (tools) excavated from the Paleolithic site of The Prince's Tomb. (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
From the geomorphological parts, stratigraphic accumulation and excavated stone cultural characteristics, it is speculated that the date of the site site is the middle and late Paleolithic, that is, the absolute age should be between 100,000 and 10,000 years. At present, the dating samples and environmental analysis samples collected from the excavation of the site have been sent to professional institutions at home and abroad for analysis and testing.
It is worth noting that this archaeological excavation unearthed stone tools with polish marks. After professional instrument observation, it is found that the stone tool grinding technology is mature, the local manual grinding traces are clear, and the ridge line of the blade after grinding is clear and obvious.
Milled stone tools excavated from the Paleolithic site of Prince Ling. (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
Fine stone nuclei excavated from the Paleolithic site of Prince Ling. (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
"This is a new type of stone tool with polish marks in the Paleolithic era that is rarely seen in the country, and it provides an important sample for studying the transition of the Neo-Paleolithic Era, the history of grinding stone tools used by early humans in China, and the origin of grinding technology." Wang Chunxue said.
Stone artifacts excavated from the Paleolithic site of The Prince's Tomb (chopper). (Courtesy of Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center)
Sheng Lishuang, deputy director of the Tianjin Cultural Heritage Protection Center, said that the comprehensive archaeological excavations and achievements of the Paleolithic sites of Tianjin and the Current PrinceLing Tombs confirmed that the Tianjin area has a human development history of not less than 100,000 years, and is an important area for early human reproduction and continuous exchange and evolution in north China and even northern China.
Reporter: Zhou Runjian
Editors: Chu Hang, Luan Ruohui