BRIEF REPORT ON PALAEOLITHIC SURVEYS OF THE WESTERN XIAOZHONGDIAN PLATEAU,SHANGRI-LA,YUNNAN PROVINCE
The Shangri-La region in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture,Yunnan Province is located on the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,with an average elevation of more than 3000 meters.This area is of great significance for investigating key issues of the relationship between hominins and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for its special geographical location.Many previous studies focus on these issues have contributed to our understanding of these issues,such as when and through which path(s)ancient human landed on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau;what were their adaptive strategies.However,these previous studies were mainly based on northern and western margin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,and the plateau itself.Studies of Palaeolithic and corresponding hominin behaviors on the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are still at their initial stages.In order to explore the possible remains of hominins activities in this area and to find potential Palaeolithic localities,a combined expedition team composed of researchers from the Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology,Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Institute of Cultural Administration,Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology,Chinese Academy of Sciences and Sichuan University,conducted several field paleolithic surveys in 1998,1999 and 2022.Prior to our survey,a collection of stone artifacts was made by geologists from the Third Geological Brigade of Yunnan Province between 1972 and 1986.In 1998 and 1999,our Palaeolithic survey covered a total distance exceeding 600 kilometers.The collection area was situated in the northwest of Xiaozhongdian Town,with Luochui'e localities as the center,which encompasses summer pastures utilized by Tangbugu,Zongsi,Bigu,and other village groups.The geographical coordinates are recorded as 27.4018°N and 99.4023°E.The collection area of Qianhushan Mountain area was newly surveyed in 2022.Qianhushan Mountain is located on the southwest side of Xiaozhongdian Town,which is 30 km away from Luochui'e localities.They are summer pasturelands of Jisha,Niqi,Kangsi and other villagers'groups as well as a famous tourist attraction in Shangri-La.The geographical coordinate is 27.4036° N,99.7909° E.The collection sites were primarily distributed across the ancient remaining plateau surface on the western margin of the Xiaozhongdian and the highest lacustrine facies.A total of more than 20 collection localities were discovered and more than 100 stone artifacts were collected during our survey.The majority of these stone artifacts have been subjected to weathering,resulting in uncertain technical attributes.This paper presents a brief typological study of 31 representative stone artifacts with artificial knapping works,which were mainly made on metamorphic rocks that were provenanced from local land surface.The dimensions of stone artifacts typically exceed 150 mm,with the exception being those crafted from quartz that have dimensions relatively smaller size.Our data shows that stone tools are mostly large cutting tools,consisting of handaxes,tanged bifacial artifacts,cleavers,picks and choppers.Some large points,scrapers,and cores also presented,though some light duty tools made on quartz were discovered as well.Overall,the assemblage is similar to Late Middle Pleistocene Mode 2 industries.Given that most of these stone artifacts were collected from the surface,their exact chronological information remains elusive.However,considering that Xiaozhongdian and Shigu paleolakes are located in the east and south of the lake and most stone artifacts were collected from paleo-plateau and the third terrace of paleolakes,it is plausible to speculate that ancient humans may have been active in this area at that time and used these ancient lakes as water or food sources.The sedimentary period corresponding to the ancient lake could potentially be linked to the occupation timespan of ancient humans who produced the stone artifacts.In terms of lithic technology,Handaxes and other bifacial tools represent the primary typological characters in the assemblage.This kind of tool-kits combination first appeared in China is the Baise(Bose)Basin dated back to 800 ka.Additionally,a site bearing handaxes was excavated at Ganzi Piluo site in Sichuan Province which is geographically proximate to our study area,with an estimated age of over 130,000 years.Similarities in lithic industry may also suggest a probable population connection.Therefore,we suggest that the upper limit of these lithic artifacts can be traced back to the Middle Pleistocene epoch.However,more precise dating outcomes necessitate further geological investigations and chronological research.Our study provides essential preliminary insights into hominin activity in this region,serving as a fundamental basis for further investigations of hominin behaviors and associated key issues from a comprehensive perspective.
Shangri-laPalaeolithiceastern margin of Qinghai-Tibet PlateauhomininsLarge Cutting Tools
万方数据
维普
