A preliminary report on the excavation of Wujialiang Paleolithic Locality 1 in the Nihewan Basin, North China

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2026.0053

Abstract

Abstract:

As a key area to explore the origin and evolution of human beings in the world, Nihewan Basin is renowned for the continuity of Quaternary sediments and the richness of ancient human occupations. Wujialiang Locality 1 (WJL 1) is an important site of the Shandui Site cluster, located in the southern part of Datianwa platform on the eastern edge of Nihewan Basin. It was first discovered in 1992, and a small area of archaeological excavation was carried out in 2015. The site is buried in the upper part of Nihewan bed, and the stratigraphic sequence is complete. The cultural layer is well preserved, and a large number of cultural remains such as stone artifacts and animal fossils have been unearthed. It is estimated by the OSL dating that the age of this site is between 378 ka BP—359 ka BP, which belongs to the middle Middle Pleistocene.

It could be inferred from the geomorphological environment, the lithic assemblages and their preservation conditions that Wujialiang Locality 1 belongs to an in-situ burial type of archaeological site, with ancient human activities being the primary cause of cultural artifact accumulation and deposition at the site. Analysis of lithic raw materials reveals that ancient humans mainly utilized locally abundant materials such as rhyolite, flint, and siliceous limestone for lithic core reduction and tool fabrication. Lithic technological analysis indicates that ancient humans primarily employed the hard hammer percussion method for core reduction, supplemented by bipolar technique; cores were not systematically prepared before flake removal, primarily utilizing core rotation to obtain more flake products, resulting in mostly wide and thin flakes with irregular shape. Tool types mainly consist of small scrapers, with blanks predominantly being large-sized flakes, indicating a preference for the unifacial development and utilization of tool edges by ancient humans.

Overall, based on the types and technological characteristics of lithic artifacts, the lithic technology at Wujialiang Locality 1 belongs to the predominant flake tool technology system in northern China. The features of lithic industry at the Shandui site cluster are relatively consistent, representing the inheritance and development of earlier stages of lithic industry in this region.

Key words: WJL 1, flake tool technology, Nihewan Basin, Middle Pleistocene

CLC Number:

K871

MA Chao, TIE Weidong, QIU Wenyan, XUE Feng, DEMIANA YG Rishmawi, NIU Dongwei, HOU Jiaqi, WANG Fagang. A preliminary report on the excavation of Wujialiang Paleolithic Locality 1 in the Nihewan Basin, North China[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2026, 45(05): 939-947.

Figures/Tables 5

References 9

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最大长Length→		<20 mm		20~50 mm		50~100 mm		100~200 mm
类型Types↓		数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent
普通锤击石核Simple cores				2	0.7%	2	0.7%	1	0.4%
砸击石核Bipolar cores				4	1.5%
废片Debitage	完整石片Whole flakes	22	8%	21	7.6%	1	0.4%
	不完整石片Broken flakes	17	6.2%	9	3.3%
	碎片Flake fragments	49	17.8%	65	23.6%
	断块Chunks	25	9.1%	46	16.7%	2	0.7%
石器Tools		1	0.4%	8	2.9%
总计Total		114	41.5%	155	56.4%	5	1.8%	1	0.4%

最大长Length→		<20 mm		20~50 mm		50~100 mm		100~200 mm
类型Types↓		数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent	数量n	占比percent
普通锤击石核Simple cores				2	0.7%	2	0.7%	1	0.4%
砸击石核Bipolar cores				4	1.5%
废片Debitage	完整石片Whole flakes	22	8%	21	7.6%	1	0.4%
	不完整石片Broken flakes	17	6.2%	9	3.3%
	碎片Flake fragments	49	17.8%	65	23.6%
	断块Chunks	25	9.1%	46	16.7%	2	0.7%
石器Tools		1	0.4%	8	2.9%
总计Total		114	41.5%	155	56.4%	5	1.8%	1	0.4%

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