Techno-typological analysis of the microlithic assemblage at the Xuchang Man site, Lingjing, central China

Cultural deposits of the Lingjing Xuchang Man site are up to 9 m thick and are divided into eleven levels. Level 5, which is dated to ca.13,500 ± 406 BP, contains abundant microlithics, including microblade cores, the blanks of microblade cores, the flakes produced by renewing and removing the platform, microblades, and tools. In this paper, the operational sequences for producing the microlithics from Level 5 are analyzed to indicate the production processes of microblades. Compared with other sites yielding microlithics in north China, the microblade technology at Lingjing is not unique. There are two kinds of microblade core technologies in north China, namely prepared technology and unprepared technology. The former is characterized by wedge-shaped microblade cores, while the latter one is characterized by pyramidal types of microblade cores. The microblade cores at Lingjing are mainly pyramidal. There are several types of microlithic tools and most were produced by pressure flaking. However, a few were detached by bipolar percussion. During the LGM (Last Glacial Maximum), a microblade technology appeared and existed widely in North China. As the southernmost site in north China yielding microlithics, research on the microlithics of Lingjing is of great importance in providing new materials for studies of the microblade technology and human behavioral pattern in north China and northeast Asia in the Late Paleolithic.