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A critique of the Chinese ‘Middle Palaeolithic’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Xing Gao  and
Christopher J. Norton
Xing Gao
Affiliation:
Department of Paleoanthropology, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica, PO Box 643, 142 Xizhimenwai Dajie, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
Christopher J. Norton
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, 336a Science Building, William Paterson University, Wayne NJ 07470, USA.k_s_g@hotmail.com
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Extract

The Chinese Palaeolithic has traditionally been divided into three distinct cultural periods: Lower, Middle, and Upper. Analysis of four stone tool criteria (raw material procurement, core reduction, retouch, and typology) to determine if a distinct Middle Palaeolithic stage existed in China suggests that very little change occurred in lithic technology between the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic. Accordingly, a two-stage progression is proposed: Early and Late Palaeolithic. The transition between these two cultural periods occurred with the development of more refined stone tool making techniques (e.g. introduction of blade and microblade technology) and the presence of other archaeological indicators of more modern human behaviour (e.g. presence of art and/or symbolism) (c. 30,000 years ago).

Keywords

Chinese prehistoryunilinear evolutionMiddle PalaeolithicEarly and Late Palaeolithic

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Papers
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Antiquity , Volume 76 , Issue 292 , June 2002 , pp. 397 - 412
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd. 2002

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