Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (06): 978-988.doi: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0090

• Yuanmou Hominin Site • Previous Articles     Next Articles

A preliminary report on the survey of Laoyatang Paleolithic site-complex in the Yuanmou Basin, Yunnan Province

RUAN Qijun1(), ZHANG Shuai2, LI Xiang3, LIU Jianhui1, GUO Xiangqi4, LI Jun5, CHE Decai6, LI Junyi1, ZHENG Xiaoyong6, YONG Chun7, WANG Zhenzhen7, JIA Zhenxiu2, LI Hao2   

  1. 1. Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming 650206
    2. Alpine Paleoecology and Human Adaptation Group (ALPHA), State Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Earth System, Environment and Resources (TPESER), Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101
    3. Institute of Archaeology, Beijing Union University, Beijing 100191
    4. Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming 650200
    5. Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture Museum, Chuxiong 675000
    6. Yuanmou County Cultural Relics Management Office, Yuanmou 651300
    7. Yuanmou Man Museum, Yuanmou 651300
  • Received:2025-02-05 Accepted:2025-04-02 Online:2025-12-15 Published:2025-12-15

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Abstract:

During 2022~2023, the joint archaeological team of the Yuanmou hominin site conducted a systematic investigation in the Laoyatang region of the Yuanmou Basin. In total, eight Paleolithic sites with clear strategraphy have been found, along with 391 stone artifacts. Together, we name them as the Laoyatang Paleolithic site-complex. According to the depostional relationship among different sites, we can divide all stone artifacts into three phases. The first phase contains only two pieces, and thus the technological feature is not clear. The age of the first phase likely falls in the Middle Pleistocene or earlier. The second phase contains 133 stone artifacts and has been dated to ca. 74 ka-72 ka based on OSL dating, while the third phase contains 74 stone artifacts and was dated to ca. 56 ka-33 ka by OSL method. In addition, 182 stone artifacts have been collected from both surface and disturbed deposits. Lithic technologies in the second and third phases are close to each other and show expedient core-flake tools industry in general. On one hand, the finding of the Laoyatang Paleolithic site-complex provides valuable materials for reconstructing the evolutionary sequence of humans and Paleolithic culture following the Yuanmou hominind, and on the other hand, it provides important materials for deepening our understanding of human evolutionary history in Southwest China during the Late Pleistocene.

Key words: Yuanmou Basin, Laoyadong Paleolithic site-complex, Late Pleistocene, Core-flake industry, Human evolution

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