Abstract: Paleolithic cultures flourished in the warm and moist environment during the MIS 3. However, with the LGM it suddenly turned colder and drier leading to a southern expansion of grasslands, desert, and fauna in North China. How did hunter-gatherers adapt and respond to so harsh an environmental change? Based on three geological sections and lithic assemblages at PY01 - 02, 03 and PY05, we think firstly that stratigraphic changes from fluvial2lacustrine deposits to Malan Loess represented a great environmental change. Correspondingly, in terms of size, weight, material and technique, artifacts also showed the distinct differences between fluvial-lacustrine deposits and the Malan Loess. The lower layer, fluvial2lacustrine deposit, yielded big and heavy lithic artifacts, which are similar with those in upper reaches of Jing River reflecting the characters of local Paleolithic culture. But the artifacts in the upper layer or Malan Loess are generally small and can be divided into two groups: microlithic assemblages made of chert; and little artifacts of quartz. They are relatively similar to those found at Shuidonggou and Haiyuan, probably resulting from human immigration when the environment turned colder and drier in LGM. Likewise , the same lithic assemblage and stratigraphy change as Pengyang was recorded in southern Shanxi Province. Spatial distribution of Paleolithic sites in the MIS 3 and the LGM provide potential evidence for the idea of hunter-gatherers migrations, and so we conclude that environmental change in the LGM had an ever widely influence over Paleolithic cultures in North China.

Key words: Pengyang; LGM; Environmental deterioration; Microlith