Abstract: The Nihewan Basin, covering the northwest of Hebei Province and northeast of Shanxi Province, is located in the transition zone between the North China Plain and the Inner Mongolian Plateau with an area of roughly 150-200 km2. Bearing the earliest and centralized evidence on the human dispersal to Northeast Asia from Africa, the basin is considered as the key region on the study of the relationship between early hominin evolution and adaptive behavior in North China. This paper will give a preliminary report on a newly discovered Early Pleistocene Paleolithic site complex named Madigou (MDG), but with particular emphasis on the two sites (MDG-E6 and MDG-E7) of the MDG site complex. Madigou site complex is situated in the concentrated area of Early Paleolithic sites on the Cenjiawan Platform of the eastern part of the Nihewan basin. MDG-E6 and MDG-E7 sites were discovered in 2007 and were excavated in 2012 and 2013 field seasons by the staff from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IVPP). Archaeological occurrences were buried in the fluvio-lacustrine deposits of Nihewan beds of fine sands, silt and clay, with grey, yellow, brown, and green in color. Geomorphological and stratigraphic comparisons as well as preliminary magnetostratigraphic dating results indicate that early hominins occupied the site before ca. 1.07 Ma. The excavation of MDG-E6 exposed an area of 30m2. In total, it unearthed 127 lithic artifacts, 9 animal fossils and 48 pebbles and cobbles. Archaeological materials were mainly from the altitude of 933-932m, and the feature of archaeological layers is the typical lacustrine sediment of fine sand and silt. Lithic assemblage can be classified into debitage(n=82; 64.57%), cores (n=44; 34.64%) and retouched pieces(n=1; 0.79%). Lithic raw materials derive from local sources, including chert(n=48; 37.80%), dolomite(n=35; 27.56%), breccia(n=12; 9.45%), and some volcanic rocks (andesite, basalt, and tuff). The stages of weathering and abrasion of the stone artifacts are dominated by slightly and moderate stages (1 and 2). Most artifacts are medium in size without size lesser than 2cm. The technique of lithic artifact manufacturing is only direct hard hammer percussion. The cores include unifacial chopper cores, bifacial chopper cores, heavy-duty scrapers, polyhedrons, discoids and causal cores. The technological breakdown of complete flakes was dominated by Type V and Type II. The animal fossils are too fragmentized to identify species. The excavation of MDG-E7 exposed an area of 20m2, unearthed 92 lithic artifacts, 35 animal fossils and 47 pebbles and cobbles, while 29 archaeological materials were collected from screening. The attitude of 933.5-932.5m and 935-934m are the main archaeological layers, and also show lacustrine sediment feature of fine silt and clay. The lithic assemblage includes debitage(n=85; 92.39%), cores (n=5; 5.43%) and retouched pieces (n=2; 2.17%). The use of raw materials and the main stages of weathering and abrasion of the stone artifacts resemble the feature of MDG-E6 to some extent. Most artifacts are small and medium in size. Flaking technique is also direct hard hammer percussion. Cores consist of bifacial chopper cores, heavyduty scrapers, causal cores and subspheroid. The technological breakdown of complete flakes is dominated by Type V. As too fragmented condition, the animal fossils cannot be identified either. In conclusion, the weathering and abrasion stages, technological composition, and the characteristics of archaeological layers indicate that the MDG-E6 and MDG-E7 sites were formed in the lake margin contexts and were disturbed by relatively gentle energy of lamellar flow from lake shore. As dominated by Oldowan-type core forms and debitage, the stone artifact assemblages of MDG-E6 and MDG-E7 may be considered to Oldowan-like (Mode1, core and flake technology) Industry. The unearthed archaeological remains from the two sites not only enrich the discoveries of Early Pleistocene sites but also will provide valuable clues for the research on the evolution, dispersal and technical development mode of early hominins in the Nihewan Basin, North China.

Key words: Oldowan-like Industry; Early Pleistocene; MDG-E6 and E7 sites; Nihewan Basin