Research Of Shell Tools In Chinese Prehistory

As the shell tools of China in Prehistory are unearthed constantly, the relevant study of shell tools continues to increase. Currently, the studies of shell tools are focused on types, function, craftsmanship and ways of use, etc. There were mainly three types of shell tools in the Paleolithic Age, mainly include shell scraper, shell knife and shell arrowhead. The craftsmanship of these tools was original. The tools are made simply, with a round hole in the middle in them. The shell tools of that age were used as a supplement of stone tools. The types of shell tools in the Neolithic Age began to increase, including the knife, spade, dagger, chain, arrowhead, shell web which were use by shells. And the craftsmanship was progress continually, from simple knapping to sharpening, then changed into first prefabricating and next perforating and sharpening around. From the experimen and functional analysis, the shell tools of the Paleolithic Age were multipurpose, while the shell tools of the Neolithic Age were mainly used for slicing and cutting. The shell tools witness the significant revolution of process technology from the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age.The paper summarizes the appearance and distribution of shell tools creatively, finding that shell tools were first founded in sites of southern area in transition period from the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age. while in northern area, shell tools were first founded in the Neolithic Age. The differences of shell tools between southern and northern areas are form, craftsmanship and function, etc, which reflect the distinction of economic model of two areas obviously. The paper states the deep reasons of such topography from two aspects, on the one hand, it is the effect of cultural tradition, and on the other hand, it is the effects of climate, which is more intensive.When analyzing the function of shell tools, we find that shell tools appeared as the tools to harvest crops. And also the region where the shell tools appeared is similar to the behavior of cooking food appeared, so the paper in some degree gives an affirmation to the shell tools of Chinese prehistory as one of the vital indicators of the source spreading clues of agriculture. Meanwhile, through the comparison of the artifacts from two areas in the whole transition period, we can discovery that during the transition from the Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age, the southern people of that times used the stable economic pattern of gathering and fishing, while the northern people used mainly the economic pattern of hunting with strong mobility.