A macroscopic technological perspective on lithic production from the Early to Late Pleistocene in the Hanshui River Valley, central China

The nature and variability of Chinese Paleolithic culture remain unclear because the method of studying lithic industries has been essentially typological, and few regions have been intensively researched. A technological and techno-functional methodology provides a new perspective for exploring the cognitive modes of hominids and interpreting the intra and inter-regional homogeneity and variability of Paleolithic cultures. Over the last few decades, numerous Paleolithic sites with stone artifacts were excavated in the Hanshui River Valley. Based on a new methodology and recent discoveries, this paper reviews the Paleolithic sites of the Hanshui River Valley and studies representative industries to investigate regional lithic production and human behaviors. In terms of operative schemes, débitage and façonnage coexisted at nearly all sites and showed continuity and stability throughout the Pleistocene. For débitage, the Type C was present in nearly all sites. For façonnage, operative scheme 1 (unifacially-knapped on matrix of simple bevel) was predominant. The operative schemes of both débitage and façonnage were extremely similar in that great emphasis was placed on the selection of natural technical characters rather than on intentional preparation. For inter-regional variability, the percentage of bifaces was much lower (<5%) than in Acheulean Complex and the operative schemes for producing these tools were different from those of Acheulean bifaces, which suggested a clear distinction of techno-cognitive modes between hominids of the Hanshui River Valley and those of the West. Regarding intra-regional variability, the technological and techno-functional method provides a new perspective for interpreting the variability of hominids' techno-cognitive modes during lithic production. More extensive dating analysis would enable the construction of a more detailed chronological sequence of the Hanshui River Valley.