Thisisapreliminarystudyoftoolsmadeonmammalianbones ,antlersandhornsfoundin centralNorthChina .Thesebonytoolscanbedividedinto
2generalcategories,chippedtoolsand groundones .Atotalof1 7tooltypeshavebeenidentified ,includingpoints ,scrapers ,burins ,projectile points ,drills,needles,harpoons,etc .Theywerecollectedfrom 2 2Paleolithicsites localities ,dated fromtheLowerPleistocenetoUpperPleistocene . Basedontypologicalstudies ,thispapersuggeststhatthePleistoceneboneindustryincentral NorthChinawasdominatedbychippedtoolsmadeontube shapedlimbbonesandotherboneoflarge andmedium sizedmammals .Directfreehammerpercussionwasthemaintechniquefortoolmanufac ture ,whilebipolarmethodmighthavebeenemployedtofabricateafewspecimens .Thebonetoolindus tryhadwitnessedcertainchangesorinnovationsinmanufacturingtechniquesovertime ;however ,con tinuationsinbothtypologyandtechnologywereevidentfromearlytolateperiods . Thispaperalsodiscussespossiblefunctionsofbone
tools ,technologicalaspectsofscrapedand groundedbonetools ,andtheoriginsanddevelopmentsofthebone
antler hornindustryincentral NorthChina .ItsuggeststhatscarpedandgroundbonetoolsappearedonlyintheUpperPaleolithic . Thelowfrequencyofsuchnewtypesincomparisonwithchippedbonetoolsmightindicatethatthelat terwasstillthemainstreanbonetoolindustryevenaftertheformerhademerged .Theappearanceof scarpedandgroundbonetooltechnologyincentralNorthChinamaybewastheresultofculturalex changesandinteractionswithneighboringpopulationsduringthelateUpperPleistocene .