A preliminary study on human behavior and lithic function at the Wulanmulun site, Inner Mongolia, China

The Wulanmulun site, located in southwestern Inner Mongolia (China), is an important Paleolithic discovery in the Ordos Plateau in addition to the sites of Salawusu and Shuidonggou. About 4200 stone artifacts, 3400 fossils, and abundant hunting evidence of hominid were uncovered in 2010. In order to explore stone tool function and human behavior at Wulanmulun during the Middle to Late Pleistocene, we have selected 140 specimens excavated from Locality 1 of Wulanmulun in 2010 for use-wear analysis. The results suggest that 58 specimens retain evidence of use-wear, accounting for 41.4% of the observed samples. Many stone artifacts display use wear, and several show wear from hafting. The working motion was dominated by defleshing and slicing, and the main contact materials were animal substances. Animal processing might have been one of the main working tasks at Locality 1 of Wulanmulun, as numerous animal bone fragments with obvious cut marks and burnt bones were also found in situ.