Discovery and scientific value of the Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in the Nihewan Basin (Yuxian)
Received date: 2026-01-09
Accepted date: 2026-02-15
Online published: 2026-06-12
Nihewan Basin is considered as a key region for exploring the environmental fluctuation and human adaptations during Pleistocene in China. The discoveries of archaeological sites from the basin are always draw great attention to the public in the research field. Comparing to the investigations and research development from Early and Late Pleistocene in the area, the archaeological sites from Middle Pleistocene still need to be improved. As the main part of the Nihewan Basin (senso lato), the Yuxian subbasin also preserved fluvial and lacustrine Quaternary deposits which can be assigned to the Nihewan Beds during the formation of Nihewan Paleolake. Since the 21st century, many archaeological sites including Qianshangying (QSY), Jijiazhuang (JJZ), Caijiagou (CJG), Yinjiangou (YJG), and Beiguanbu (BGB) from Middle Pleistocene in the Jijiazhuang and Nuanquaan area were achieved, offering a unique opportunity to investigate Middle Pleistocene human adaptations in the Nihewan Basin.
The stratigraphic sequence of Middle Pleistocene from Yuxian subbasin documented the middle to late stages and vanish of the Nihewan paleolake, while early humans occupied in the lake shore environment of the paleolake. 26Al/10Be burial dating, Electron Spin Resoance (ESR), and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) techniques were carried out to constrain the time interval of 0.7~0.2 Ma of early human occupation. Stone tool assemblages show evidence of relatively long-distance resource procurement, systematic flaking strategy, and the increased number of retouched tools indicate standardized, extensive and refined modification. Preliminary zooarchaeological analysis indicate that early humans seemed to have primary access to animal carcasses and performed as the main agency of the formation of many sites, which demonstrate the early humans possessed the abilities of the systematic and effective exploitation of animal resources. Paleoenvironmental reconstructions imply that the relationship between climatic fluctuations of extra-long duration of interglacial or mild stadial climate events (MISs 15~13) and Mid-Brunhes Event (MBE) may be great potential research topics in the future.
It can be inferred that the archaeological discoveries from Middle Pleistocene in Yuxian subbasin will help to build the chronological framework and million years of technological evolutionary history of early humans in the Nihewan Basin. In addition, these archaeological investigations will also bear great significance for exploring the cognitive and acquisition capabilities of animal resources, how environmental change affect the behavioral strategies adapted to the lake shore landscape of hominins in the Nihewan Basin.
PEI Shuwen , NIU Dongwei , MA Dongdong . Discovery and scientific value of the Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in the Nihewan Basin (Yuxian)[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2026 , 45(03) : 403 -418 . DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2026.0027
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