Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 2015, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (04): 503-515.

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A Preliminary Report on the Newly Discovered Cave Sites in Central and Southwest Guizhou

ZHANG Xinglong, WANG Xinjin, BI Zhongrong, WU Hongmin, ZHOU Shimin, YI Kuixiang   

  • Online:2015-12-15 Published:2015-12-15

Abstract: In paleoanthropological and paleolithic archaeological research in China, Guizhou with its numerous cave deposits bears great significance. Newly discovered cave sites in central and southwestern Guizhou Province are reported here. All nine newly discovered cave sites were distributed in the Panjiang river system, which belongs to Zhujiang River system in south China. Stone artifacts dominate the cultural remains. From central Guizhou, lithic raw materials include chert and silicious limestone, while quartzite cobbles are the main raw material for lithic manufacturing in southwest Guizhou. Hard-hammer direct percussion was the main technique. Most of the lithic artifacts from central Guizhou are small in size, while the stone artifacts from southwest Guizhou are relatively large. Scrapers were the dominant retouched tool type, followed by choppers. Comparison among adjacent areas in Guizhou has yielded an age close to late Late Pleistocene to the start of the Holocene for the newly discovered cave sites. Among the nine cave sites, Qingshuiyuan Dadong from Huishui, Malu Dadong from Changshun, and Lubian Dadong from Anlong are worthy of further excavation.

Key words: Cave site; Stone artifact; Late Paleolithic; Guizhou