This morning, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage announced the important archaeological discoveries of paleolithic sites: important archaeological discoveries at the Xiama monument site in Weixian County, Hebei Province, and the latest progress in paleolithic archaeology in the Nihewan Basin, while interpreting the value and significance of archaeological results.
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The site of the Xiama Monument in Wei County, Hebei Province
Located in Sanguan Village, Wei County, Hebei Province, the Xia Ma Monument site is a site of the late Paleolithic period. With the support of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology carried out archaeological work on the site, and jointly conducted comprehensive research with many institutions and universities at home and abroad, such as the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Geology and Geophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Max Planck Institute of Human History In Germany.
In the 6th layer of accumulation, archaeology found hematite, stone tools, bone tools and animal fossil fragments scattered in the fire pond and its surroundings, and dating showed that the formation was 41,000 to 39,000 years old. According to the analysis of Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and other technologies, it was confirmed that a staining area enriched with hematite was confirmed, and friction marks were found on the surface of some hematite ore, which were speculated to be the remains of pigment processing. Excavated stone tools are mainly slender small stone tools made of smashing, and some of the fine stone tools have found bone stalk residues and linear arrangement of plant fiber residues on the surface, which is speculated to be a composite tool made by ancient humans through stalks and inlays, which were used to drill holes, process furs, cut plant and animal soft tissues, etc. Comprehensive studies of sedimentology, pollen analysis and animal archaeology have shown that the ancient humans of Xiamabei lived on the terraces of the Huliu River, and the vegetation was dominated by grassland landscapes.
This discovery is the earliest known remnant of prehistoric human processing of pigments and mosaics using small stone tools in mainland China and even East Asia, which is of great value for interpreting the development process of human culture in the Paleolithic era in East Asia and the world.
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The latest progress in Paleolithic archaeology in the Nihewan Basin
The Nihewan Basin refers to the Yangyuan Basin in a broad sense, including the Weixian Basin, Zhuolu Basin, Huailai Basin and Datong Basin in Shanxi, and archaeologists have found more than 500 Paleolithic sites from the middle of the Early Pleistocene to the end of the Late Pleistocene, dating from more than 1.7 million to 10,000 years ago. For a long time, with the support of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Hebei Normal University and other institutions and universities have jointly carried out archaeological work in Nihe Bay and achieved fruitful results.
The Maquangou site group confirms 17 paleoanthropological layers dating from 1.76 million to 1.26 million years ago, 7 cultural layers dating from 1.36 million to 1 million years ago in the Xiaochangliang-Donggutuo area, and the Maliang-Hougou site group preserves 9 cultural layers dating from more than 800,000 to 350,000 years ago. Recent excavations at the Houjiayao site have revealed a complete stratigraphic profile that confirms that the Xujiayao people lived between 200,000 and 160,000 years ago. The Banjingzi site unearthed stone core stripping pieces that were prefabricated and repaired between 100,000 and 86,000 years old. The site of The West White Horse Camp has found 45,000-year-old fire remnants and sites for dismemberment and disposal of animal resources, which is speculated to be a temporary camp for ancient humans. Sites such as the oil house have found remnants of stone leaf technology dating back 29,000 to 27,000 years, which are of great value for exploring the emergence and diffusion of stone leaf and fine stone leaf technology in North China, and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. The Discovery of Fire Ponds, Fine Stone Leaf Technology Stone Tools, Ornaments and Pottery Pieces dating back to 20,000 to 10,000 years ago in the Hutouliang site group provides a scientific and reliable stratigraphic and cultural basis for exploring the transition from paleolithic to Neolithic. These important discoveries basically construct a spatio-temporal framework for the development and evolution of Paleolithic culture in the Nihewan Basin for nearly 2 million years.
(CCTV reporter Tian Yunhua)
Source: CCTV news client