Abstract:

Hu et al recently published an article in Nature reanalyzing the long-curated lithic assemblage excavated from the Guanyindong site in 1964-1973 in Guizhou Province (South China) and draw an opposite conclusion to the previous studies. They put forward a new viewpoint that the assemblage reflected a late Middle Pleistocene Levallois stone-tool technology on the basis of new dates and was thus the earliest Levallois production in East Asia. In this paper, we briefly reviewed the research history of the Guanyindong assemblages and the Levallois technology. Based upon our own careful examination on a sample of Guanyindong assemblages and the technological definition of the Levallois technique, we find that the previous studies of this assemblage, which concluded that it fell within a core-flake technocomplex, remains the most reliable interpretation. We also synthesize the evidence of Levallois technologies in China, such as Shuidonggou, Jinsitai and Tongtiandong sites, and conclude that there is as yet no evidence supporting the occurrence of Levallois technology in China about 50,000 years ago.

Key words: Guanyindong site, Levallois technology, Lithic artifact, Technological reading