Today, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held a work meeting on the important progress of the "Archaeology China" major project in Beijing, and reported the latest progress in archaeological discoveries and research in Nihe Bay, Hebei Province. The archaeological discovery of the earliest known archaeological remains of prehistoric human processing of pigments and inlaid with small stone tools in mainland China and even East Asia is of great value for interpreting the development process of human culture in the Paleolithic period in East Asia and the world.
Courtesy of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (the same below)
According to the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the sixth layer of the Xiama Monument site in Weixian County is piled up 41,000 to 39,000 years ago, and archaeology has found hematite ore, fire ponds and scattered stone tools, bone tools and animal fossil fragments around it. According to the analysis of Raman spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and other technologies, it was confirmed that a staining area enriched with hematite was confirmed, and friction marks were found on the surface of some hematite ore, which were speculated to be the remains of pigment processing. Excavated stone tools are mainly slender small stone tools made of smashing, and some of the fine stone tools have found bone stalk residues and linear arrangement of plant fiber residues on the surface, which is speculated to be a composite tool made by ancient humans through stalks and inlays, which were used to drill holes, process furs, cut plant and animal soft tissues, etc. This discovery is the earliest known archaeological remains of prehistoric human processing of pigments and inlaid with fine stone tools in mainland China and even East Asia, which is of great value for interpreting the development process of human culture in the Paleolithic era in East Asia and the world.
The archaeology of Nihe Bay has gone through nearly a hundred years of history so far, and has achieved fruitful results after successive generations of archaeologists. Archaeologists have found more than 500 Paleolithic sites from the middle to the end of the Late Pleistocene, the Maquangou site group has confirmed 17 paleoanthropological layers dating from 1.76 million to 1.26 million years ago, 7 cultural layers dating from 1.36 million to 1 million years ago in the Xiaochangliang-Donggutuo area, and the Maliang-Hougou site group has preserved 9 cultural layers dating from more than 800,000 to 350,000 years ago. Recent excavations at the Houjiayao site have revealed a complete stratigraphic profile that confirms that the Xujiayao people lived between 200,000 and 160,000 years ago. The Banjingzi site unearthed stone core stripping pieces that were prefabricated and repaired between 100,000 and 86,000 years old. The site of The West White Horse Camp has found 45,000-year-old fire remnants and sites for dismemberment and disposal of animal resources, which is speculated to be a temporary camp for ancient humans. Sites such as the oil house have found remnants of stone leaf technology dating back 29,000 to 27,000 years, which are of great value for exploring the emergence and diffusion of stone leaf and fine stone leaf technology in North China, and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. The Discovery of Fire Ponds, Fine Stone Leaf Technology Stone Tools, Ornaments and Pottery Pieces dating back to 20,000 to 10,000 years ago in the Hutouliang site group provides a scientific and reliable stratigraphic and cultural basis for exploring the transition from paleolithic to Neolithic.
The Nihewan Archaeological Project reported this time is an important result of Paleolithic archaeological research, which more vividly explains the human culture, technology and environment, aesthetic and spiritual world of the Paleolithic era on the mainland, which is of great value. (Xinmin Evening News reporter in Beijing, Du Yuao)