Lithic Industries In The Three Gorges Region

The researches of lithic industry of Neolithic and historical period is relatively weak in the Three Gorges Region of China, so it's necessary to probe into this subject. At first, this paper analyzed the stone artifacts of Nanmuyuan site by observing, classification, statistical analysis, measuring . A database was built to organize, sample and analyze the data. After analyzing the raw materials, percussion, tool types, retouching of the stone artifacts the author made conclusions about lithic industry of this site in a diachronic way. Then, the author divided the lithic industry in the Three Gorges Region into eight periods: Pleistocene, early Holocene, before-after Nanmuyuan culture, Daxi culture, Qujialing and Shijiahe culture, Baimiao type, Shang Dynasty and Xizhou Dynasty. Based on the analysis of Nanmuyuan site, the author firstly analyzed the representative sites, then investigated the others, finally summarized the characteristics and development of lithic industry in the Three Gorges Region.From Paleolithic, Neolithic to historical period, the lithic industry in the Three Gorges Region is not only evident in its stability, but also in its development and transformation. The stability can be seen in several factors. The raw materials were similar; Direct hammer percussion always existed; The tools were always retouched by hard hammer percussion. The blanks for tools were flakes from Pleistocene to Neolithic. The simple scrapers and chopper-chopping tools lasted for very long time until historical period, etc. The development and transformation of lithic industry have proves as follows: Before the early Upper Pleistocene, the blanks for tools had been mainly cobbles, few of flakes. From the Upper Pleistocene, the major blanks for tools gradually became flakes. In the early Holocene, the technology of ridged-hammer bipolar flaking replaced direct hard hammer percussion and became the major technology of flaking in all the sites. In the same time, the method of knocking and polishing appeared in cobble blanks as methods of retouching. Moreover, the lithic industry of Baimiao period in Neolithic were different from that of the earlier and later period. In Shang Dynasty and later period, the lithic industry became similar to that of pre-Baimiao type. Generally, the lithic industry saw the most evident change in early Holocene, which was the appearance and wide use of ridged-hammer bipolar flaking. The reason why this technology was widely used was that the Three Gorges Region was abundant in cobbles but these cobbles were of low quality and not suitable for direct hard hammer percussion but ridged-hammer bipolar flaking. As to the origin of the technology of ridged-hammer bipolar flaking in the Three Gorges Region, it is supposed to come from the drainage basin of Yuanshui in Hunan Province. In a word, the lithic industry in the Three Gorges Region is mainly characterized by its inherited characteristic and stability, yet its development and transformation is relatively unconspicuous.Lastly, the lithic industry of Neolithic in the Three Gorges Region was strongly influenced by the geological and geographic condition, semi-tropical environment, climate and creature resources of this area.