Current research status and future prospects of the Changbai Mountain obsidian provenance in the Northeast Asian context

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0045

Abstract

Abstract:

The study of obsidian provenance in Northeast Asia has significantly advanced since the 1970s, providing crucial insights into prehistoric populations’ raw material procurement and utilization strategies. This volcanically active region contains multiple obsidian sources, including those in the Changbai Mountain area, the Russian Far East, and the Japanese archipelago. Researchers have identified distinct geochemical signatures for these sources, enabling the tracing of obsidian artifacts to their origins. Since the Upper Paleolithic period, ancient humans in and around the Changbai Mountain region have consistently exploited obsidian resources. This practice offers valuable perspectives on raw material procurement strategies, mobility patterns, and subsistence behaviors in prehistoric societies.

The Changbai Mountain region, located in the eastern part of Jilin Province, China, serves as a crucial passage connecting the East Asian mainland with the Korean Peninsula and is densely populated with numerous archaeological sites dating from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene. As the largest composite volcano in China, Changbai Mountain has experienced frequent volcanic activities during the Quaternary period. Extensive research has been conducted by domestic and international geologists on the geological background, formation reasons, magmatic evolution sequence, volcanic eruption types, and ages of Changbai Mountain, including the formation age and distribution range of Changbai Mountain volcanic obsidian. This study reviews the geological history and volcanic eruptions of Changbai Mountain to explore the characteristics and provenance of Changbai Mountain obsidian. It is suggested that the various groups of obsidian raw materials unearthed at archaeological sites may be associated with different volcanic craters or outcrops within the Changbai Mountain region.

The availability, accessibility, and abundance of raw materials from different obsidian outcrops may vary, which could have significant implications for the raw material economic analyses of prehistoric populations. Therefore, during such analyses, the correspondence between each group of raw materials and their specific sources requires careful consideration. Furthermore, future research should focus more on the development and utilization strategies of obsidians within the sites in the Changbai Mountain area. This will not only provide additional information for the reconstruction of the obsidian circulation network in Northeast Asia but also offer more insights into the raw material economy of prehistoric populations.

Key words: Northeast Asia, Changbai Mountain, obsidian, provenance

CLC Number:

K871

GUO Yueting, LI Feng, GAO Xing. Current research status and future prospects of the Changbai Mountain obsidian provenance in the Northeast Asian context[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2026, 45(04): 790-800.

Figures/Tables 1

References 67

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