石制品细小化现象在中国南方地区旧石器时代晚期广泛出现，但是学者对其出现时间和技术特征等问题的讨论比较有限。本文首先对细小石器技术的概念进行梳理和界定，并阐明其与小石器技术或小型石片石器技术的区别。在此基础上，较为系统地总结和介绍中国南方地区旧石器时代晚期细小石制品组合的发现和最新研究情况。我们认为：石制品细小化现象在我国南方地区出现的时间至少在距今4万年前，并延续至更新世末期，甚至进入全新世阶段；细小石制品组合的主要特征包括：对燧石、石英等硅质岩原料的选择偏好，石制品尺寸的显著细小化，使用砸击技术，制作琢背器等石器类型。这些特征与东南亚和南亚地区旧石器时代晚期石制品组合表现出较多相似性，很可能指示了人群和技术的跨区域扩散传播。

Recent discoveries of Upper Paleolithic sites across southern China featuring miniaturized lithic assemblages have led to a growing recognition that this trend may represent a significant technological innovation with important evolutionary implications. However, scholarly discussion on the subject remains limited, and consensus has yet to emerge regarding its occurrence time and specific technological characteristics. To address these gaps, this study begins by clarifying the conceptual distinctions between “miniaturized lithic” in southern China and “small stone tool” in the northern region, next systematically reviews key sites in southern China that exhibit lithic miniaturization, and finally focuses on the timing of its appearance, technological features, and adaptive strategies.

Findings indicate that lithic miniaturizatiwon first emerged around 40,000 years before present during late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, observed in cave sites throughout Lingnan and Southwest China, such as Yahuai Cave, Fengyan Cave, and Zhaoguodong Cave. By approximately 30,000 years before present, amid the climatic transition from MIS 3 to MIS 2, the technological phenomenon had become widespread around Poyang Lake, with key sites including Shanghu Site and Xianrendong-Diaotonghuan Cave.

Technologically, these miniaturized lithic assemblages found across southern China exhibit far more commonalities than regional variations, maintaining a remarkable evolutionary continuity over tens of millennia. Key features of the miniaturized lithic assemblages include a pronounced preference for siliceous raw materials such as chert and quartz, the systematic production of miniaturized size of stone artifacts, the widespread adoption of bipolar flaking techniques, and the occasional presence of backed tools. These shared technological traits, though seemingly ordinary, display notable parallels with lithic technologies found in broader geographic regions, such as Southeast Asia and South Asia. This, on the one hand, indicates that the lithic miniaturization in southern China might be an integral part of the global process of lithic miniaturization in the late Pleistocene period. On the other hand, it also underscores the need for a wider comparative framework in future research to better understand technological connections and potential population interactions across these regions.

The extensive occurrence of miniaturized lithic assemblages and the associated minialithic technocomplex during Upper Paleolithic in southern China reflects a survival strategy adopted by the population to cope with the high mobility of hunting activities. Essentially, it is the product of multi-dimensional technological integration, reflecting the comprehensive assessment by hunting group of variables such as the texture of raw materials, the efficiency of tool production and use, and the maintenance costs.