2019年10月,安徽省文物考古研究所在巢湖地区开展旧石器考古野外调查,新发现16处旧石器地点、1处动物化石地点,并对20世纪80年代发现的望城岗地点群进行复查,共获得石制品939件,动物化石4件。石制品原料以石英岩砾石为主,类型可划分为剥片类、废片类、修理类和砸击品。石核开发利用程度较高,周身自然砾石面占比较低;废片类包括石片、断块和碎片,石片以V型和II型为主,存在一定数量长度大于10 cm的大石片,部分石片保留直接使用痕迹;修理类多为以石片为毛坯,类型以刮削器为主,同时存在少量大型切割工具。根据对张家湾地点OSL年代学测试结果推测,巢湖地区发现旧石器地点的绝对年代不晚于距今12.5万年。这些地点的石器技术的典型特点是早期人类从大型石核上剥取大石片,并以之为毛坯加工重型工具。本次发现对进一步讨论中更新世人类在长江下游地区的石器技术多样性及该地区阿舍利技术大石片存在状况等具有重要学术意义。

This report presents the preliminary results of a Paleolithic survey in the Chaohu Lake Region (CLR), Anhui Province. The investigation was conducted by Institute of Archaeology and Cultural Relics of Anhui Province in 2019, and a total of sixteen new paleolithic localities and one animal fossil locality were discovered. A former Paleolithic site-complex, named Wangchenggang, discovered in 1980’s was also reexamined. Nine hundred and thirty-nine stone artifacts and four pieces of broken animal fossils were found during the investigation. Quartzite dominates the raw materials of stone artifacts and most of them are made on cobbles. Technologically, the stone artifacts can be classified into flaked pieces, detached pieces, retouched pieces and bipolar technique products. The exploitation of free-hand core is high and the ratio of cortex is low. Most of flakes belong to type V and II, with some utilized materials coexistent. There are also some large flakes (L>10 cm) in the assemblage. According to the characteristics of stone artifacts, early human detached large flakes from the large cores and further used them as blanks to manufacture heavy-duty tools. On the basis of Zhangjiawan OSL dating results, The age of these paleolithic localities in the CLR were no later than 125 kaBP. The new discoveries bear great significance for studying early human dispersals, technological diversity and the possibility of Acheulean technology large flake in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.