洋县范坝旧石器地点位于秦岭南麓汉江上游的汉中盆地汉江左岸支流溢水河右岸第二级阶地上。为配合西安-成都高铁项目建设,2016年对该地点进行发掘,揭露面积171 m²,出土不同类型的石制品784件。范坝地点加工石制品的原料为遗址附近河流及河漫滩中的石英、石英岩、细砂岩、火成岩和燧石等砾石材料。硬锤打击法是主要的剥片方法,另外还有部分砸击法标本。石制品类型包括石锤、石核、石片、经过二次加工修理的石器、断块、碎屑及备料,石器组合中既存在尺寸较小的轻型刮削器,也有砍砸器、石球和重型刮削器等大型器物。遗址地层初步的光释光测年结果表明,汉江及其北部支流——溢水河第二级阶地上覆的堆积物形成时间为距今22~2.5万年之间,旧石器遗存的埋藏年代约为距今18~2.5万年的中更新世晚期至晚更新世阶段。

The Fanba site is located on the second terrace of the Yishui river, a tributary on the left bank of the Hanjiang river in Yangxian county in the Hanzhong basin, southern piedmont of the Qinling mountains. A systematic excavation was carried out from February to June in 2016, and a total of 784 lithic artifacts were unearthed within an exposed area of 175 m². Analysis of the lithic assemblage suggests that the stone artifacts are made on the local cobbles/pebbles, which were collected from the nearby alluvial deposits riverbank. Quartz was the most frequently used as raw materials, and quartzite, fine sandstone, igneous rock, and flint were occasionally used.

Direct hard hammer percussion was the dominant flaking technique and the bipolar technique is also identified on some artifacts. The lithic assemblage consists of hammerstones, cores, flakes, retouched tools, chunks, flaking debris and unmodified manuports. The retouched tools include small scrapers and heavy-duty tools, such as choppers, spheroids, and heavy-duty scrapers. Typological and technological features of the lithic assemblage show that the site has similarity with the contemporary Paleolithic open-air sites in the Hanzhong basin and the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region (DRR) in the middle reach of the Hanjiang river. The TT-OSL results of the alluvial deposits suggest that the duration of human life in the site could be dated back to 180-25 kaBP. As the first site excavated systematically on the second terrace of the Hanjiang river and its tributaries, these findings of Fanba site lay the foundation for understanding the cultural diversity and behavioral adaptability of the early hominids in the Middle-Late Pleistocene in the transitional regions in central China.