Abstract:

The Bingnong-Binghong site is situated in Yuanmou county, north-central Yunnan Province. It contains a lower cultural layer dated as early as 4600 BP, around the Mid-Holocene. While the upper cultural layer of the site contains a few bronze implements, estimated to be lasting until 2500 BP or so. A large number of knapped stone artefacts were uncovered from both cultural layers, about 12694 pieces in total. Techno-typological analyses of the lithic artefacts indicate that Late Neolithic to Bronze Age populations inhabited in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River utilised knapped stone tools quite often. The lithic raw materials are mostly sedimentary rocks in the form of river cobbles. Considering that the site is located on the second terrace of the Jinsha River, large quantities of river cobbles would be easily accessed. The lithic assemblages from the Bingnong-Binghong site contain cobbles, used elongated cobbles, cores, flakes, tools and debris. Most of the stone tools were either shaped directly from large oval cobbles, or to split cobbles into two halves and then retouch split cobbles into different kinds of tools. Among the knapped stone tools, there found quadrilateral axes/adzes made of either cobbles or split cobbles, and slightly shouldered stone axes made of split cobbles. There also found knives made of primary oval flakes, either with notches on both sides or not. Besides, there are scrapers retouched on flakes, side-edged choppers shaped from oval cobbles, discoids bifacially worked from cobbles, net sinkers made of large flat pebbles, chisels and arrows. Our study shows that: 1) Techno-typological features of the knapped stone tools from the Bingnong-Binghong site exhibit an indigenous cobble tool tradition in Southwest China since the Late Upper Pleistocene. It seems to bear remarkable similarities to the Hoabinhian technocomplex in Mainland Southeast Asia, which reveals a close relationship between the populations and archaeological cultures of both regions originated as early as the Late Upper Pleistocene. 2) New tool types such as stone knives with notches on both sides, and quadrilateral stone axes / adzes, are also found in the lithic assemblages. They may have been introduced into Southwest China around the Mid-Holocene, together with cultivated crops by farming populations of the Late Yangshao-Majiayao cultures from the Central Plains-Gansu-Qinghai region. Neolithic cultural factors should have dispersed along with continuous human movements from Central Plains through Northwest China to Southwest China since Early Holocene. 3) The long-lasting cobble tool tradition in the middle reaches of the Jinsha River is very likely resulted from the abundance of raw materials for stone tool production and the convenience of obtaining cobbles in nearby areas. The characteristics of Bingnong-Binghong lithic industries appear to be highly related to the unique natural environment of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Key words: Bingnong-Binghong site, Mid-Holocene, knapped stone artefacts, middle Jinsha River