Abstract:

Endscraper is a kind of typical stone tool. Although its retouching is quite simple, endscraper has great potential in studying human behavior, subsistence and adaptation to the environment. There are many researches on endscraper, including knapping technology, usage mode, functional analysis and so on. But in China, most of research is about typology and the functional research of endscraper is scarce. By combining the knapping and use of endscraper with the microwear analysis, we conduct a research about endscraper function. The result suggests that: 1) These endscrapers which are collected from the Xiabozhuang site, Nihewan Basin, North China, are mainly used to process hides, especially wed hides; 2) These stone tools are also used to process wood directly; 3)These tools were resharpened again when them became blunt, and after processing hides, some endscrapers were used to handle the wood until discarded.

Key words: Upper Paleolithic, Endscraper, Experiment, Microwear