Refining the Understanding of Large Cutting Tool Technology in the Baise Basin, South China

ABSTRACT

Ever since the first discovery of handaxes in the 1970s in the Baise (Bose) Basin in South China, this region has been providing important data that have improved our understanding of Large Cutting Tool (LCT) technology in China. However, presently there are still some obvious shortfalls in our understanding of this very significant cultural paleolandscape. For instance, previous studies have only analyzed small or incomplete sub-samples of much larger collections, especially of the LCTs often from surface contexts, and in addition recent studies have also largely focused on the analysis of LCT morphological indices, versus adopting a more holistic approach that considers fundamental technological attributes. As a result, this study aims to provide a more detailed quantitative assessment of an expanded LCT and artifact sample, and furthermore, provide important insight into the spatial and temporal variability of Large Cutting Tool technology from a wider geographical and environmental perspective.

KEYWORDS:

• Large Cutting Tools
• Baise Basin
• technological attributes
• technological variabilities
• Human behaviors

Acknowledgements

We thank Wei Wang from the Shandong University and Guangmao Xie from the Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeology for their generous supports of the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences [grant numbers XDB26000000; XDA19050102]; the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pioneer Hundred Talents Program; and the Guangxi Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project [grant number 17CKG001]. MGL would like to acknowledge funding support provided by the University of Johannesburg. KK thanks the National Research Foundation of South Africa [grant number 88480] for supporting her collaborative work in China.

Notes on contributors

Lei Lei

Lei Lei (PhD, 2020, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences), is a Lecturer in the College of History and Ethnic Culture, Guizhou University. Her research focuses on Paleolithic Archaeology.

Matt G. Lotter

Matt G. Lotter (PhD, 2016, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. His research interests include lithic technology, specifically within the Earlier Stone Age sequence of southern Africa, and geoarchaeological landscape-based studies investigating site formation and palaeoenvironments.

Dawei Li

Dawei Li (PhD, 2018, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan)), is an Associate Researcher at the Institute for History and Culture of Science & Technology, Guangxi University for Nationalities. His research focuses on Paleolithic Archaeology and Environmental Archaeology.

Kathleen Kuman

Kathleen Kuman (PhD, 1989, University of Pennsylvania, USA) is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Her interests are in the early Stone Age archaeology and palaeoanthropology of Africa and the Palaeolithic of China.

Hao Li

Hao Li (PhD, 2015, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa) is currently an Associate Professor at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. His primary research focuses on the evolution of lithic technology in southern China and he also has special interest in geoarchaeological studies that investigate site formation processes and environmental contexts, specifically during periods of early human occupation.