作为我国北方乃至东亚地区旧石器时代遗址分布最密集、文化序列最完整的地区，泥河湾盆地现已成为世界范围内探索人类起源和演化的经典区域。怀来盆地作为广义泥河湾盆地的重要组成部分，是更新世期间古人类迁徙扩散与文化交流的重要通道。通过对怀来盆地2014年以来旧石器考古发现与多学科研究成果的系统梳理，本文从考古调查、遗址发掘、年代学研究、石制品研究、动物考古学研究、古环境重建等多个维度，初步勾勒出该区域中更新世晚期至晚更新世末期古人类文化遗存的基本面貌与生存演化图景。怀来盆地旧石器考古工作的持续开展，是从“狭义泥河湾”扩展到“广义泥河湾”考古的重要实践，相关研究可为探讨中国北方以及东亚地区古人类技术演化、生存适应、行为多样性和区域人群互动等科学问题提供重要材料和视角。未来需进一步强化多学科交叉与区域比较研究，推动该区域旧石器考古不断走向深入。

As a key area to explore the origin and evolution of human beings in the world, Nihewan Basin is globally renowned for the continuity of Quaternary sediments and the richness of ancient human occupations. Huailai basin, which preserves fluvio-lacustrine deposits and Paleolithic cultural remains, is located in the eastern part of the Nihewan Basin (senso lato), serving as a crucial corridor for hominin migration and cultural exchange along the Sanggan River-Yongding River drainage system during the Pleistocene. Since 2014, a joint archaeological team organized by Hebei Normal University and other institutions has conducted systematic and continuous Paleolithic surveys, excavations, and multidisciplinary research in the Huailai Basin, yielding a series of important achievements that have preliminarily filled the Paleolithic archaeological gaps in this region.

In terms of archaeological survey, a total of 21 Paleolithic localities were discovered between 2014 and 2023, mainly distributed along the southwestern shore of the Guanting Reservoir and the northern piedmont of the basin. Systematic excavations were conducted at three key sites: Zhuwobu site, Xigouwan Locality 1, and Nanjiagou site, yielding a great number of lithic artifacts, animal fossils and other archaeological remains. Chronological studies using OSL and AMS¹⁴C dating placed Zhuwobu site at 280±13 ka BP (late Middle Pleistocene), Xigouwan Locality 1 at 47~41 ka BP (early Upper Paleolithic), and Nanjiagou site at 17~16 ka (terminal Late Pleistocene).

Raw materials were predominantly locally procured, with evidence of potential long-distance transport and heat treatment of volcanic breccia at Nanjiagou site. Systematic analysis on Lithic assemblages reveals a technological transition from simple core-and-flake technology at Zhuwobu site and Xigouwan Locality 1 to the coexistence of flake tool technology and microblade technology at Nanjiagou site. Zooarchaeological analysis indicates that hominins played a dominant role in Animal resource accumulation and exploitation. At Nanjiagou site, the findings of bone needles, ostrich eggshell beads with red ochre residues, and composite tools technology reflect intensified resource exploitation and behavior diversity during the Late Paleolithic. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions based on pollen, grain size, and magnetic susceptibility, integrated with chronological frameworks, show that cultural layer at Zhuwobu site corresponded to a warm and humid environment with sediments of shallow lacustrine phase, while human occupations at Xigouwan Locality 1 occurred during a relatively cool, humid interval between H5 and H4 (Heinrich events).

In summary, over a decade of systematic Paleolithic research in the Huailai Basin has established a preliminary chronological framework and lithic technological sequence spanning the past 300 ka, outlining the basic characteristics of hominin occupations and their subsistence and evolutionary trajectory from the late Middle Pleistocene to the terminal Late Pleistocene. These findings and studies provide essential data and perspectives for addressing key scientific issues in North China and East Asia, including hominin technological evolution, subsistence adaptation, behavioral diversity, and regional population interaction. Future work should strengthen multidisciplinary integration and regional comparative research to promote the continuous development of Paleolithic Archaeology in this area.