New research: The selection strategy of raw materials for hand axe population in Baisan Basin in South China is obvious

BEIJING, Nov. 14 (Reporter Sun Zufa) reporter 14 from China
Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (
Paleontology Institute) was informed that the Institute and Guangxi, Guizhou Archaeological Arts and Sciences and other components of cooperation Team, the latest research obtained a new understanding of the technical behavior of the hand axe population in the Baisan Basin in South China shows that the pioneers of the Baisan Basin in the Old Stone Age already had obvious selection strategies for making stone with rival axes, and were able to carry out more fine and standardized repairs against the cutting edge of the axe.
Since 2018,
Ancient Spine Institute, Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology, Guangxi Baise Right River National Museum, Guangxi National University and Guizhou University have formed a cooperative team to start the systematic finishing and research work on the hand-axe stone industry in Baise Basin. Their latest research paper on specimens such as hand axes in the entire collection of the Baise Right River National Museum has been published online by lithic Technology, an international journal of archaeology. Dr. Lei Lei of Guizhou University and
of the Institute of Paleontina and Paleo spine are the first authors of the paper and the authors of the communication.
, according to the author of the paper, the combination of early large tools of the Paleolithic, represented by the hand axe, is an important embodiment of the technological progress of ancient human stone tools. Guangxi Baixian Basin is one of the earliest areas in China to discover hand axes, Yu Yuzhu and Li Yanxian reported in 1975 on the first site containing hand axes found in the village of Baixian Song, thus beginning the study of old stone in Baixian Basin. In the nearly 50 years of excavation and research in baisse basin, archaeologists have accumulated a large number of precious old stone specimens, which provide scientific basis for studying the evolution of early humans in southern China.Through quantitative statistical analysis of raw material texture, stripping technology and repair technology, the
team obtained a new understanding of the technical behavior of hand axe population in Baise Basin mainly includes six aspects:
First, the raw material selection strategy is obvious, the hardness is large, one end of the pebble round gravel raw materials are more favored.
second is the hand axe blank to gravel-based, while there are a small number of large stone sheet blank, organized two-sided peeling technology is the main way to obtain large stone chip blank.
the third is that the hand-axe trim is mainly one-sided (70.3%), and the two-sided repair also accounts for a certain proportion (29.1%).
is that the sharp part of the hand axe has the highest trim ratio and the smallest blade angle, and there is a statistically significant difference from the bottom, which may indicate different functional units.
is the vertical trim scar (strike direction parallel to the long axis of stone or
lines) is common in the tip, playing a role in thinning and regulating the tip edge.
6 is along the right river valley from top to bottom, hand axe technology has a certain degree of variability, upstream large stone blanks and two-sided repair ratio is significantly higher than downstream, which may be related to the size of gravel raw materials in different areas.
team said it would continue to conduct further research around hand-axe materials in the Baisan Basin with a view to deepening understanding of the hand-axe stone industry in southern China and its role in early human evolution in southern China.