Abstract:

Located in Puding County, central-western part of Guizhou Province, the Chuandong site is of great cultural significance for its extensive collection of bone tools. Dating from approximately 11±1 kaBP to 20±6 kaBP, this assemblage predominantly consists of sophisticated tools such as spatulas, points and awls, of which many exhibit remarkably well-preserved bone surfaces. However, so far the published researches on manufacturing of bone artifacts are based on naked-eye observations, and the presumed functions of such tools are largely rooted on typological comparisons or anecdotal records. In this paper, microscopic features found on the tools, along with results of bone surface modification analysis, bone implements from the 1981 field season using chaine opératoire and comparative ethnographic, experimental and archaeological data. Results shows that spatulas were made from the long bone shaft of large-sized bovids by percussion and engraving (probably with a relatively pointed or narrow-edged tool), while bipoint and awls were fabricated from the long bone shaft of large-sized cervids by extensive scraping or grinding. The present study shows that bone awls were principally used to perforate animal hides probably for cloth-making; rather than as a component of composite spear or fish gorge. Bipoints most probably used for drilling holes or in engraving activities. Further investigation of the spatulas from the cave shows that microstriations, ranging from 30 to 80 μm in width, are restricted within the polished parts of spatulas; with a progressive reduction in width from the tip, these striations are oriented parallel or sub-parallel to the long axis of the tool. This pattern is consistent with those observed in tuber exploitation experiments. It is thus concluded that, despite variations in morphology, the primary function of this category of tools was likely to exhume some kinds of under-ground storage organs, which are presumably to be one of the inhabitants main food resources. The bone tool assemblage from the Chuandong site provides a significant contribution to our understanding of the technological repertoire and subsistence patterns of Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in Southwestern China and also in tracing cultural contact between different peoples in southeastern Asia as a whole.

Key words: Bone tools, use wear, bone spatula, bipoints, subsistence, Paleolithic