Late Pleistocene intensification technologies in Northern China

Intensification technologies used in late Pleistocene northern China include microblades, milling stones and pottery, all of which have been implicated in development of agriculture in northern China, perhaps influenced by the harsh climate of the Younger Dryas. This paper examines the adaptive function of these technologies in the context of late Pleistocene climate and environment. It is proposed that microlithic technology was a tool of mobile foragers focused on hunting, and the initial use of pottery was probably connected to bone grease production. Only milling stones were initially a plant-oriented intensification technology, but their sparse, episodic appearance in the late Pleistocene did not lead to persistent intensification involved in the development of agriculture. It was only after the Younger Dryas in the context of improved Holocene climate and greater primary productivity that these three technologies converged with changes in mobility to become part of the agricultural revolution in northern China.