The structure of a lithic assemblage and the nature of artifact variability are closely related to several factors,including the availability and quality of
raw material, the strategy by which it was procured, the particular activities in which stone
tools were made and used, and the role of the sites within a settlement system. This paper presents the results of an analysis of raw material exploitation and their implications for hominid adaptations at
Zhoukoudian Loc. 15, an important late Middle and early Upper Pleistocene site in North China. Raw Material Utilized at the Site Six lithic raw material types are recognized at the site, namely vein
quartz,
igneous materials, rock crystal, flint, sandstone, and quartzite. The overwhelming majority(95 2%) of the artifacts were made on quartz. Among the minority raw material group, igneous rock is most abundant (204
pieces), followed by crystal (81 pieces). Only 30 pieces on flint, 16 pieces on sandstone, and 2 pieces on quartzite were collected.
Raw Material Distribution, Availability and Quality Most of the lithic materials exploited at Loc. 15 were available in the landscape close to the site. Longgushan and the larger Xishan where the Zhoukoudian complex is situated, are composed of various rock types, including quartzite, limestone, sandstone, and slates. The weathered outcrops at the hills and the riverbeds of the Zhoukou River provided a ready source for hominids to find and select the stone materials they needed for making their tools. A gravel layer in the Zhoukou River Terrace, the so called “the Lower Gravel”, formed during the Middle Pleistocene, is rich in various kinds of rounded stones and is believed to be one of the principal raw material sources for Zhoukoudian hominids. Nodules of vein quartz, quartzite, igneous rock, and sandstone can be easily encountered in the area; rock crystals have been found in a granite area about 5 km north of the site. A few exotic materials, such as flint and agate, cannot be easily located nearby. However, such materials make up only a tiny proportion of the assemblage, and they were probably procured as small isolated nodules in streambeds around Zhoukoudian. While numerous stones can been easily obtained close to the site, materials with high quality are very scarce in the region. In general, workability of the dominant raw material types at the site, namely vein quartz and rock crystal, is very poor and thus limits the number of usable flakes detached from any one core. Quartz tends to split along structural planes and thus makes it difficult the toolmaker to control the size and shape of the flakes detached from it. Strategies for Exploiting Different Raw Materials Quartz is the major material used to produce cores, flakes, and tools. Both direct hammer percussion and bipolar flaking were applied to this kind of material. Only 2 hammer percussion cores (flint) were collected for the non quartz materials; a much smaller proportion of debris was found from these material compared to quartz; and flakes on these non quartz materials are larger and more regular. These might indicate that most flakes on flint, igneous rocks and sandstone were not produced at the site; they were detached at other spots and the selected materials were then brought to the site. This conclusion is also supported by the result of Minimal Nodule Analysis: non quartz materials were sorted into minimal groups and refitting was attempted for them. No conjoins were found. Raw material frequencies were also examined for tools by class. More than 93 4% of the retouched pieces were produced on quartz. This material was used to make all kinds of tools except for cleavers. More than 4% of the tools were produced on igneous material, including burins, chopper chopping tools, cleavers, notches, and sidescrapers. Fourteen pieces were made on crystal, including burins, nail shaped scrapers, and sidescrapers;12 tools, all sidescrapers, were fabri
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