Cultural adaptations to the Late Pleistocene: Regional variability of human behavior in southern Shanxi Province, central-northern China

This study investigated regional variability of human behavioral adaptation to changing environments during the Late Pleistocene. The four important Upper Paleolithic sites of Xiachuan, Xueguan, Shizitan and Chaisi from southern Shanxi Province in central China were selected for comparison on a regional scale. In order to understand the technologies and activities of the occupants, both dynamic techno-typological and microwear analyses were employed. The four prehistoric hunter-gatherer groups adopted lithic technologies to different levels to cope with their own environments, climate and available resources by the terminal Pleistocene.