The oldest bark cloth beater in southern China (Dingmo, Bubing basin, Guangxi)

Stone bark cloth beaters are considered part of the archaeological package that is considered to be associated with the Austronesian expansion from southern China across the Pacific. Here, we present evidence from the Dingmo Site in Bubing basin in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China of a bark cloth beater excavated in situ from a stratigraphic layer AMS dated to 7898 ± 34 BP. Based on current evidence, the Dingmo bark cloth beater is ∼1300 years older than the previously reported oldest bark cloth beater from the Xiantouling Site in Shenzhen, Guangdong. The implications of this new finding are discussed.