Abstract:

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.

Key words: Paleolithic survey, Chaohu Lake Region, Large flake production, High quality material, Middle Pleistocene