Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
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The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes
at Shuidonggou Locality 7
Shuwen Pei a, *, Dongwei Niu a, Ying Guan a, Xiaomei Nian a, Kathleen Kuman b, c,
Christopher J. Bae d, Xing Gao a
a
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences,
No. 142, Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing 100044, China
b
School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
c
Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, WITS 2050, South Africa
d
Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, 2424 Maile Way, 346 Saunders Hall, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Available online xxx
Shuidonggou (SDG) has long been recognized as the type site complex for the Chinese Late Paleolithic, as
defined by the presence of blade technology and by its chronology. Recent field and laboratory research
conducted in the past decade has revealed the presence of Paleolithic ornaments and two different
technological components of an industry equivalent to the early Upper Paleolithic e Levallois-like blades
and simple core and flakes which appear at SDG localities. Although clearly important for Paleolithic
research in China and broader Old World prehistoric studies, relatively little is known about the SDG site
formation processes and the specifics of site context. Here, we explore the various formation processes
and sedimentary context associated with the stone artifact assemblage from one key site e Shuidonggou
Locality 7 (SDG7).
Contrary to earlier suggestions that the SDG7 lithic accumulations are the result of secondary deposition, our study indicates that SDG7 has been preserved in near-primary context. Features that were
previously argued to reflect fluvial disturbance are in fact localized collapse features caused by saturated
sediment load in loess deposits in a lakeshore context. Multiple lines of evidence support the argument
that the site preserves the original foraging behavior of the SDG hunteregatherers. This evidence consists
of the sedimentary matrix and the distribution patterns of archaeological materials (particularly the
artifact assemblage composition, debitage size distribution, artifact conditions, orientation analysis,
inclination, and spatial patterning). The SDG7 archaeological deposits were buried rapidly in shallow lake
margin deposits of fine sands, silts, and clays that were minimally disturbed and subjected only to
relatively low energy hydraulic forces. This indicates that the SDG7 occurrences are suitable for early
hominin behavioral studies in North China at the start of the Late Paleolithic.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
North China
Late Pleistocene
Late Paleolithic
Shuidonggou Locality 7
Site formation processes
Stone artifacts concentration
1. Introduction
Scientists have long recognized that archaeological materials in
a deposit can be altered by site formation processes (Visher, 1969;
Bar-Yosef and Tchernov, 1972; Gladfelter, 1977; Isaac, 1977; Hassan, 1978; Schick, 1986, 1991; Schiffer, 1987; Goldberg and Petraglia,
1993; Kuman, 1994; Petraglia and Potts, 1994; Kluskens, 1995;
Sahnouni and Heinzelin, 1998; Ward and Larcomb, 2003; Dibble
et al., 2006; Bernatchez, 2010; Marder et al., 2011). This realization
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Pei).
has made interpreting the archaeological record more complicated
(Isaac, 1983, 1984; Schick, 1987a,b, 1992; Potts, 1988; Bertran and
Texier, 1995; Kuman et al., 1999; Shea, 1999; Kuman, 2003;
Lenoble and Bertran, 2004; Brantingham et al., 2007; BenitoCalvo and de la Torre, 2011).
Fortunately, the impact of site formation processes on archaeological sites found in floodplain and lake margin environments is
particularly well studied (Potts, 1982; Schick, 1986, 1987a;
Sahnouni, 1998; Sahnouni and Heinzelin, 1998; Sahnouni et al.,
2002; Morton, 2004). This is primarily because these types of localities are usually subjected to low energy fluvial processes, where
there is relatively little movement of the archaeological materials.
In contrast, high energy settings (e.g., coarse alluvial sediments and
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.052
1040-6182/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.052
2
S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
Fig. 1. Location of Shuidonggou Locality 7 (SDG7) in North China.
riverbank deposits) are much more complicated for archaeologists
to interpret (Petraglia and Potts, 1987; Schick, 1992, 2001; Shea,
1999). Many of the sites found in Shuidonggou are in lake margin
depositional contexts and thus were subjected to low energy fluvial
activities.
The Shuidonggou site complex (38 170 55.200 N, 106 300 6.700 E;
1198 m a.s.l.) is located on the southwestern edge of the Ordos
Desert in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. Since 1923, the
site has long been recognized as critical to understanding the North
Chinese initial Upper Palaeolithic, now referred to in China as the
initial Late Paleolithic (Licent and Teilhard de Chardin, 1925; Boule
et al., 1928; Jia et al., 1964; Bordes, 1968; Li, 1993; Yamanaka, 1995;
Norton and Jin, 2009; Bae and Bae, 2012), the “Late Paleolithic” as
defined by Gao and Norton (2002) and Norton et al. (2009). Early
researchers classified the lithic industry from Shuidonggou Locality
1 (SDG1) as evolved Mousterian or emergent Aurignacian (Licent
and Teilhard de Chardin, 1925; Boule et al., 1928; Zhou and Hu,
1988) because of the presence of a Levallois-reduction strategy
for blades. Since 2002, a series of multidisciplinary investigations
has been conducted at the site by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences) and the Institute of Archeology of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region that focused on new excavations, the analysis of a new
series of optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dates, and
developing a better understanding of the geomorphology of the
Shuidonggou site complex, a region that covers an area of over
50 km2 (Gao et al., 2004, 2013a,b; Chen et al., 2012; Pei et al., 2012,
2014; Li et al., 2013; Yi et al., 2013).
Six new Paleolithic sites (designated SDG7e12) were discovered
and large scale excavations were conducted at five [SDG2 (previously discovered), SDG7, SDG8, SDG9, and SDG12]. As a result of
these excavations, new archaeological horizons have been identified
and more than 50,000 Paleolithic stone artifacts were recovered (Pei
et al., 2012; Gao et al., 2013a,b). The SDG assemblages include
Levallois-like blade and traditional core and flake industries,
microblades, large numbers of vertebrate fossils, some ostrich
eggshell beads, hearths, pigments and bone tools. This diversity of
artifactual evidence ranging from 38,000e20,000 years has made
SDG one of the most important site complexes for study of early
modern humans in northeast Asia (Norton and Jin, 2009; Pei et al.,
2012; Boëda et al., 2013; Gao et al., 2013b; Li et al., 2013). The SDG
lithic collections were primarily excavated in situ and are often found
in high densities, ranging in size from several hundred to more than
ten thousand artifacts from different localities.
Nevertheless, relatively little is known of the site formation
processes that may have influenced the SDG archaeological assemblages. In other words, were the SDG artifacts found in their
originally deposited context or are the accumulations the result of
secondary deposition, perhaps the outcome of fluvial activities? We
attempt to answer this question by evaluating the site formation
processes that may have impacted the archaeological materials
from SDG7, one of the primary Shuidonggou localities.
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
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S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
2. Site background
2.1. Geology and stratigraphy
Shuidonggou is located in the southwestern margin of the Ordos
Desert, 28 km southeast of Yinchuan and approximately 10 km east of
the modern channel of the Yellow River in Ningxia Hui Autonomous
Region (Fig. 1). The Border River, a tributary of the Yellow River,
originates in Qingshuiying about 40 km to the southeast and runs
northwest along the southern edge of the Great Wall of China. After
crossing under the Great Wall, it becomes the Shuidonggou River,
which eventually feeds into the Yellow River (Bureau of Geology and
Mineral Resources of Ningxia,1983; Institute of Archeology of Ningxia
Hui Autonomous Region, 2003). There is one low lying hill called
Dongshan (1500e1400 m a.s.l.) which runs north to south in the
eastern part of Lingwu county. The hill stretches to the north and the
elevation is reduced to 1305 m a.s.l. The hill has also been referenced
as “Heishan”, which lies 3 km west of Shuidonggou (Gao et al., 2008).
Five terraces, labeled T5 to T1 from oldest to youngest, are
present between the east slope of Dongshan and SDG. The elevations of T5eT3 are 130 me150 m, 130 m, and 110 m above the
Yellow River water level. These terraces are mainly distributed in
the piedmont belt south and west of SDG (Gao et al., 2008; Liu et al.,
2009). Two grade terraces named T1 and T2 are present along the
banks of the Border River; most of the SDG archaeological sites are
located on these terraces.
The SDG site complex is located on a tributary drainage system
dominated by the Border River. The site complex is situated in an
3
ecotone, forming a semi-arid desert steppe separating the more
arid Ordos Desert to the East and the Loess Plateau to the South,
which is characterized by an open-steppe grassland environment.
The region is dominated by a thick (10e40 m) sandy loess-like
platform that is increasingly intercalated with alluvial sediments
as one approaches the floodplain of the Yellow River. The loess-like
deposits in the direct vicinity of SDG appear to correspond to the
Late Pleistocene early Malan Loess (Barton et al., 2007). The Quaternary sequence is set in thick Neogene red clay that is found
extensively throughout the region. At SDG, the Border River has cut
through the sandy loess-like platform and underlying Neogene red
clay producing steep exposure faces 10e20 m deep (Brantingham
et al., 2004).
SDG7 is located about 300 m southeast of SDG1, the locality first
described by researchers. The site is buried within the left bank of
the second terrace of the Border River at N 38 170 51.400 , E
106 300 20.700, 1205 m a.s.l. (Fig. 1). The Border River and its small
tributary have isolated stacks of alluvial and aeolian sediments 10e
15 m high in a long peninsula bounded by sheer to steeply sloping
bluffs (Brantingham et al., 2004). Late Pleistocene sediments at SDG
7 occur within a fluvial cut-and-fill sequence. There are three primary sedimentological units visible in the sections exposed in
excavated profiles at SDG 7 (Fig. 2): a basal unit of coarse-grained
fluvial sediments (or a fluvial cobble layer), a middle fluviolacustrine unit consisting of grey and greyegreen bedded fine
sands, silts, and clays, and an overlying unit of loess-like fine sands
and silts with localized horizontal and bedding. Excavations from
2003 to 2005 revealed 11 stratigraphic layers with a total thickness
Fig. 2. Deposits in the excavated profile at SDG7: a basal fluvial unit of coarse-grained sediments (the fluvial cobble layer), a middle fluvio-lacustrine unit consisting of grey and
greyegreen bedded medium sands and silts, and an overlying unit of loess-like fined sands and silts (view from north).
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.052
4
S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
more than 12 m. Although Neogene red clay is absent at SDG7, this
clay is found in contact with SDG7 below the fluvial cobble layer
300e500 m upstream from the primary archaeological locality. The
archaeological remains are restricted to the four lowest layers
(Fig. 3), comprising the lower part of the middle fluvio-lacustrine
unit above the basal gravel layer and with a total thickness of
more than 3.5 m.
During the Quaternary several terraces were formed by the
intermittent uplift of crust and the erosion of the Yellow River and
its branches in the SDG area. During the early Late Pleistocene, the
alluvial floodplain was broadly developed, probably due to
increased precipitation (Gao et al., 2008). Just before the advent of
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 the crust uplifted, resulting in the
undercutting of the river and transforming the alluvial flood-plain
to the basal fluvial cobble layer of terrace T2 (Herzschuh and Liu,
2007). During MIS3, due to a moister and milder climate with
increased precipitation, several small basins developed in different
parts of the old Border River system in the SDG area, resulting in the
formation of the fluvio-lacustrine grayegreen loam stratigraphy
that contains the archaeological deposits. After MIS 3, the precipitation decreased and the climate became relatively dry (Barton
et al., 2007); this resulted in the disappearance of the small lakes
and the formation of the upper unit of loess-like fine sand and silt
layers.
2.2. Dating
Due to the importance of the initial Late Paleolithic and technological comparisons between the eastern and western parts of
the Old World, the dating of T1 and T2 has received considerable
attention (Madsen et al., 2001; Gao et al., 2002). Re-examination of
the 14C and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dates in T2
yielded an age of 38e20 ka for the occupation layers (Li et al., 2013).
Because the archaeological remains from SDG 7 are from the same
horizon as those from SDG2 which was successfully dated by 14C, a
total of 9 sediment samples were collected from the archaeological
layers of SDG7 for OSL dating. Medium-grained (45e63 mm) fractions of quartz were extracted from the samples using the procedures described by Nian et al. (2009). Equivalent dose
measurements (De) were determined using the single-aliquot
regeneration dose method (Murray and Wintle, 2000). All luminescence measurements, beta irradiation and preheat treatments
were carried out in an automated Risø-TL/OSL DA-20 readers
equipped with a 90Sr/90Y beta source (Bøtter-Jensen et al., 2003)
and an EMI 9235 QA photomultiplier tube. Blue light LED stimulation (470 30 nm) set at 90% of 50 mW cm2 full power and a
7.5 mm Hoya U-340 filters (290e370 nm) were used for the quartz
OSL measurements.
The sample quartz was dominated by the fast component for the
samples from SDG7. The quartz OSL signals for repeated measurements of the same dose showed good recycling within the 10%
range (Murray and Wintle, 2000), and the recuperation ratio
remained low at <5% for the samples. Three natural aliquots of
sample L2373 were bleached with a solar simulator (SOL2) of 6 h,
and the dose recovery ratio (recovered/given dose) (Murray and
Wintle, 2003) was 1 0.06 for a given laboratory dose of 90 Gy
with a 6.75 Gy test dose. A SAR protocol was used to measure the
equivalent dose of the samples, the aliquots were stimulated at
125 C, and the preheat and cut-heat temperatures were at 260 C
for 10 s and 220 C for 0 s respectively. The dates for the SDG 7
samples ranged from 22 2 ka to 30 3 ka with the mediumgrained quartz SAR protocol, with ages increasing with depth
Fig. 3. Profile of the archaeological layers at SDG7 site, showing the dating results, the sedimentary bedding structures, and localized collapse features within the archaeological
layers.
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S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
5
sedimentary context of the archaeological collections, along with
the vertical dispersion and composition of the stone tool
accumulations.
within experimental error, except for samples L2440 and L2441
(22 2 ka and 23 2 ka) (Table 1). The strata of these two samples
may have been disturbed by human activity or other factors.
Table 1
U, Th, K concentration, and depth of the samples collected from SDG7 site, and SAR dating results of medium-grained quartz. Samples collected blew 7.5 m are form the
archaeological layers.
Lab no.
Depth (m)
U (ppm)
L2375
L2374
L2373
L2372
L2438
L2439
L2440
L2441
L2442
5.9
6.3
6.7
7.1
7.6
8.7
9.2
9.7
10.2
4.27
4.43
4.13
4.2
2.89
3.6
4.93
4.3
2.98
0.14
0.14
0.13
0.13
0.11
0.13
0.16
0.14
0.11
Th (ppm)
10.7
9.41
8.88
9.86
7.79
11
10.5
10.3
9.62
0.3
0.27
0.27
0.29
0.25
0.32
0.32
0.31
0.29
K (%)
1.76
1.72
1.66
1.7
1.92
1.57
1.65
1.7
1.52
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.06
0.05
0.06
0.06
0.05
Disc no.
Dose rate (Gy ka1)
6
4
7
6
6
8
6
6
6
3.26
3.17
3.01
3.12
2.85
2.94
3.23
3.16
2.65
0.21
0.2
0.19
0.2
0.17
0.19
0.22
0.2
0.17
De (Gy)
71
69
68
73
67
71
70
73
78
2
4
2
3
4
4
5
3
5
Age (ka)
22
22
23
23
24
24
22
23
30
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
Estimated water content: 20 5%.
2.3. Excavation and materials
3.1. Sedimentary context of the archaeological strata
After undertaking systematic mapping of the research area and
studying the geomorphology and stratigraphy of the Border River
terraces and the SDG7 deposits yielding in situ archaeological materials, we identified an area of 25 m2 for excavation. The archaeological layers were excavated in 2e5 cm increments for a total of
35 spits, with larger spits used for sterile layers. Sediments were
dry sieved with 4 mm mesh. Materials were three dimensionally
point-plotted using a total station EDM. Specimens were entered
into an electronic database after each spit was excavated, and
systematic sampling for sedimentary analysis (particle size, magnetic susceptibility, etc.) was done. Orientation and inclination
(dip) of the stone artifacts were measured by a compass used to
record such data for site formation studies. A total of 9901 stone
artifacts were recovered. In addition, two ostrich eggshell beads
and 486 vertebrate faunal specimens were recovered during excavations. The identified species include Lepus sp., Vulpes sp., Canis
sp., Felis microtus, Cervidae, Bubalus sp., Gazella przewalskyi, Equus
sp., Equus hemionus, and Struthio sp. (Pei et al., 2012, 2014; Gao
et al., 2013a).
The sedimentary matrix of the archaeological layers is formed
by fine grained particles, primarily silt loaded with a heterometric
and heterogeneous phase. Table 2 displays the results of the
different size classes in the sediments. It is generally accepted that
silty sediments are most common in flood plain or lake margins,
which are known to be deposited at lower flow speeds (Hassan,
1978). Our analysis indicates that the sedimentary matrix is primarily formed by fine grained sediments, mainly silt in shallow lake
margins. Therefore, the uppermost spits of SDG7 archaeological
layers appear to have been subjected to minimal hydraulic
reworking.
3. Site formation processes
SDG 7 site has been argued to be in secondary context
because of disruptions in the horizontal bedding (Fig. 3). However, these are in fact collapse features that typically occur in
loess deposits in lakeshore contexts. As water flows into the lake,
deposits become saturated and heavier than the surrounding
layers, resulting in a localized collapse in the strata. Contrary to
indicating a secondary context, such features at SDG7 actually
reflect a gentler, lake-shore sedimentation process. These
collapse features, along with the elongate-shaped artifact concentrations in the uppermost of archaeological layers (Fig. 4),
suggest that only low-velocity water currents have influenced
the final deposition of the archaeological materials at SDG7.
Studies in other regions of the world have found support for such
an interpretation (e.g., Langbein and Leopold, 1968; Isaac, 1977;
Schick, 1986, 1991, 1992, 2001; Petraglia and Potts, 1987, 1994;
Sahnouni, 1998; Sahnouni and Heinzelin, 1998; Shea, 1999;
Morton, 2004). Therefore, the question we need to address is:
“Which agent(s), geological or behavioral, were primarily
responsible for the accumulation of the SDG7 archaeological
materials?” We attempt to answer this question by analyzing the
Table 2
Results of the grain size analysis of archaeological layers from SDG7 site.
Size classes
Size range
Percent
Granules and small pebbles
Fine sand
Very fine sand and coarse silt
Fine silt to clay
>0.25 mm
0.25e0.125 mm
0.125e0.0156 mm
<0.0156 mm
0.71
2.46
79.38
17.45
3.2. Vertical and lateral dispersion of archaeological remains
The excavations at SDG7 reveal that the archaeological occurrences are vertically distributed through 3.50 m thickness of silt
and find sands, with <0.125 mm size classes dominate (96.83%) the
grain size. The vertical distribution indicates a high density of artifacts, and sterile levels are absent (Fig. 5). The total stone artifact
assemblage weighs 112.38 kg. Overall density of stone artifacts at
SDG7 is approximately 396 artifacts/m2, and a massive 4.50 kg of
artifactual materials per square meter. It is remarkable that the
stone artifacts show elongated patterns in the uppermost of
archaeological layers which suggests they were disturbed by hydraulic agencies. Various other aspects of the artifact assemblage,
however, indicate that hunteregatherer behavior is mainly
responsible for these prodigious concentrations of artifacts, with
post-depositional factors such as gentle lamellar water flow
affecting the original deposition of the material.
3.3. Stone artifacts concentration
We analyzed the variation in the SDG7 stone artifact concentrations to evaluate the degree of post-depositional disturbance of
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.052
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S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
Fig. 4. Plan views showing the elongated shape of an artifact concentration (left) and water disturbance (right) within the archaeological layers at SDG7 site.
artifact assemblages using criteria primarily developed by Schick
(1986; see also Petraglia and Potts, 1987, 1994; Schick, 1991, 1992;
Shea, 1999; Sahnouni, 1998; Sahnouni and Heinzelin, 1998). The
specific analyses we conducted here for site formation are technological composition; debitage size distribution; condition of the
artifacts; patterning in the artifacts orientations, inclinations, and
spatial patterning.
3.3.1. Technological composition
The initial step to appraise formative processes is to inspect the
technological coherency of the unearthed stone artifact assemblage. If artifact manufacture occurred at the site, the expected
assemblage composition would incorporate artifactual elements
that match technologically, especially in the core/debitage ratio.
When the artifact assemblage is not coherent, alternative explanations should be considered including the possibility of hydraulic
transport (Schick, 1986).
Fig. 6 presents the technological breakdown of the SDG 7 stone
artifacts. As can be seen in the histograms, the debitage category
[SFD (small flaking debris <20 mm) þ debitage] depicts the highest
frequency (n ¼ 9669, 97.66%), while cores and percussors (hammerstones) show the lowest frequency, respectively 1.07% (n ¼ 106)
and 0.05% (n ¼ 5) (Table 3). Although the percentage of SFD
(55.47%) is marginally lower than what is expected for a completely
Fig. 5. Three dimensional distributions of the SDG7 excavated archaeological remains. The bottom figure showing the artifacts distributed in the excavated area. The main part
figure showing relatively high density of the artifacts (light blue color represents stone artifacts, while green color represents fossil fragments) of the excavated area.
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
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S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
7
Fig. 6. SDG7 stone artifact assemblage composition (N ¼ 9901).
preserved collection of artifacts knapped on-site, compared to the
experimentally generated assemblage (Schick, 1986), the core/
debitage ratio (0.01) and core frequency (1.07%) at SDG 7 indicate
that the cores and debitage components match technologically.
Five battered stones appear to have been used as hammerstones,
which indicates that stone artifact knapping occurred at the site.
Therefore, the SDG7 assemblage exhibits a coherent artifact
composition. It is very unlikely that the artifact assemblage suffered
from significant fluvial disturbance.
Table 3
Stone artifact categories excavated from SDG7 site. Apart from the Small Flaking
Debris (SFD), all other material is 20 mm in maximum length.
Artifact categories
Number
SFD (Small Flaking Debris <20 mm)
Core/core tools
Retouched pieces
Debitage
Hammerstones
5492
106
121
4177
5
Total
9901
%
55.47
1.07
1.22
42.19
0.05
100
Fig. 7. SDG7 debitage size distribution (dCd, N ¼ 9669) with reference to the
experimental curve (——-——). Experimental curve according to Schick (1986).
subsequently by low velocity floods, resulting in the elongated
patterns of some materials.
3.3.3. Artifact condition
Artifact conditions were recorded for each lithic raw material
(Table 4) as they are widely used indicators for the integrity of site
context (Petraglia and Potts, 1987, 1994; Shea, 1999). Most of the
raw materials were derived from local sources: silicified limestone
(n ¼ 5335, 33.22%) and chert (n ¼ 2808, 28.36%) dominate, while
quartzite (n ¼ 966, 9.76%), quartz (n ¼ 447, 4.51%), and sandstone
(n ¼ 345, 3.49%) are less common. Condition was recorded as fresh/
unabraded, slightly abraded, or abraded (with edge damage also
considered in the degree of abrasion).
Table 4
Artifact conditions for each raw material at SDG7 site.
Raw materials/
Silicified limestone
Chert
Quartzite
Quartz
Sandstone
Total
Stages of artifact conditionsY
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
%
N
Fresh/unabraded
Slightly abraded
Heavily abraded
4327
897
111
43.70
9.06
1.12
2505
285
18
25.30
2.88
0.18
690
217
59
6.97
2.19
0.60
423
22
2
4.27
0.22
0.02
158
132
55
1.60
1.33
0.56
8127
1553
245
Sub-total
5335
33.22
2808
28.36
966
9.76
447
4.51
345
3.49
9901
3.3.2. Debitage size distribution
If stone tool knapping occurred on-site and material was not
subject to fluvial winnowing, the debitage size distribution would
resemble the expected experimental data generated by Schick
(1986), with a distinctive peak of small debitage (<2 cm) and
decreasing numbers of larger artifacts 2 cm. Fig. 7 compares the
SDG7 debitage data against Schick’s (1986) experimental data.
The SDG7 size distribution pattern shows a strong negative
skew toward smaller sizes and resembles the one produced by
experimental knapping made by Schick (1986), who also used a
4 mm sieve to sort her flaking debris. Thus, SDG7 site seem to
represent an area where early hominins did manufacture their
stone artifacts. The debitage was probably rapidly buried
%
81.84
15.68
2.48
100
Table 4 indicates that only a small minority of the artifacts shows
appreciable abrasion that would indicate significant fluvial transport.
The fresh/unabraded specimens are the most abundant (81.84%),
followed by slightly abraded specimens (15.68%), and only 2.48%
heavily abraded pieces. Although the heavily abraded artifacts are
small in number, they demonstrate that fluvial reworking has had
some role in deposition at the site. However, the large majority of
artifacts in fresh/unabraded condition indicate that fluvial disturbance was not a very significant factor for the overall assemblage.
3.3.4. Orientation patterns
Analysis of stone artifact orientations provides a valuable indicator of any disturbance by water at a site. Experimental studies
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
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8
S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
Fig. 8. Rose diagrams showing SDG7 stone artifact orientation patterns (N ¼ 988). (a) for all materials (N ¼ 988), (b) for materials 40 mm and up (N ¼ 162).
have shown that when artifacts are subjected to fluvial processes, a
preferred orientation occurs (particularly for elongated artifacts) in
response to current strength and direction (Schick, 1986; Morton,
2004). In general, elongate materials tend to be oriented either
parallel (debitage size <4 cm) or perpendicular (debitage size
4 cm) to flow trajectory. Fig. 8 is a rose diagram that presents the
pattern of the long axes of the stone artifacts from SDG7. The
artifact orientations show a random pattern with no preferred
orientation. It can be inferred from this orientation diagram that
the stone artifact assemblage was not subjected to intense fluvial
disturbance.
3.3.5. Artifact inclination
The combination of artifact inclination or dip is a sensitive indicator of water flow direction (Schick, 1986). Schick found that
minor inclinations (5e10 ) of stationary artifacts are produced by
weaker flow velocities, while higher velocities tend to produce
steeper inclinations, ranging between 10 and 30 or more (Schick,
1984, 1991).
Fig. 9 provides insight into the strength of the flow velocity. It
shows that the majority of the SDG7 stone artifacts is characterized
by only a slight inclination. Nearly 50% of the specimens have an
inclination ranging between 0 and 10 , and slightly more than 25%
shows a dip from 20 to 30 ; less than 20% of the total assemblage
has a dip greater than 30 . Overall, these inclination patterns suggest a lower velocity current.
3.3.6. Spatial patterns
As with distribution in vertical space, spatial variation on the
horizontal plane is important for determining the degree of postdepositional movement of artifacts (Schick, 1986). The stone artifact assemblage at SDG7 is fairly concentrated horizontally, as
indicated by the average number of artifacts (396) and weight
(4.50 kg) per square meter. Fig. 10 shows the spatial distribution for
the density of artifacts within the meter square units. Overall,
artifact spatial configurations do not exhibit any major spatial
trends produced by fluvial modification as observed in simulations
of hydraulic site disturbance, such as linear patterns for artifacts
with a long axis (Schick, 1986). Rather, the minor spatial trends are
indicative of only minimal disturbance. Fig. 10 shows that most of
the artifacts are concentrated in the southeast area regardless of
type, composition, and size. As proposed by Schick (1986), if a site
has undergone hydraulic disturbance, the small debitage component of the artifact assemblage most likely concentrates in a
downstream position. As more than 90% of the assemblage is <4 cm
in size but a full range of sizes is also present, it can be inferred that
the total assemblage was disturbed by gentle water movement
from northwest to southeast, and the SDG 7 artifact spatial trends
overall indicate minimal disturbance.
In summary, multiple lines of evidence suggest the SDG7
archaeological materials were minimally disturbed. The archaeological remains were concentrated in 350 cm of the 1 m vertical
distribution and in high density, suggestive of long term and/or
successive occupations. Furthermore, the SDG 7 materials were
deposited in a fine sedimentary matrix buried in a shallow lake
margin, with little-to-no evidence of high energy fluvial activity
impacting the lithic accumulation.
Fig. 9. Diagram showing SDG7 stone artifact inclination (N ¼ 886).
Please cite this article in press as: Pei, S., et al., The earliest Late Paleolithic in North China: Site formation processes at Shuidonggou Locality 7,
Quaternary International (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2014.03.052
S. Pei et al. / Quaternary International xxx (2014) 1e11
9
Fig. 10. Density of the archaeological remains within the square metre grid of the excavated area of SDG7 site.
4. Conclusions
The following conclusions may be drawn from our detailed
study of site formation processes at the SDG7 site:
1) SDG7 is one of the newly discovered and excavated sites in the
SDG site complex. The OSL dates indicate that human foragers
occupied the site sometime at intervals between 30,000 and
22,000 years. The archaeological materials are densely concentrated within the full sequence of artifact-bearing deposits.
Sedimentary matrix analysis shows that the site was buried in
shallow lake margin deposits of fine sands, silts, and clays, which
was influenced by relatively low energy hydraulic forces. Sedimentary bedding structures and localized collapse features
typical for lakeshore loess deposits, as well as the distribution of
the archaeological remains, suggest minimal re-working, though
some re-arrangement of the smaller artifacts may have occurred.
2) The SDG7 stone artifacts are generally fresh and unabraded,
displaying a coherent assemblage composition, including cores,
retouched pieces, debitage, and percussors. Debitage dominates
the assemblage. In addition, small flaking debris (SFD <20 mm)
exhibits a similar size profile to that produced by Schick (1986)
in her experimental tool making studies, suggestive that knapping occurred on the site. The lithic artifacts do not show high
inclinations or preferred orientation patterns. Analysis of both
vertical and spatial positioning of the artifacts also suggests
dense concentrations. Multiple lines of evidence presented here
suggest it is unlikely the SDG7 archaeological remains were
subjected to high energy fluvial disturbance.
3) The study presented in this paper emphasizes the relevance of
inspection of Paleolithic occurrences for hydraulic winnowing
prior to any behavioral interpretation of the excavated stone
assemblage at the SDG site complex, even though these sites are
in low energy lake margin and floodplain contexts. We conclude
that the SDG7 stone artifacts are suitable for early human
behavioral studies within the SDG site complex and the earliest
Late Paleolithic of northern China. We hope that future studies
in China analyze the potential effects of various site formation
processes in order to better understand the formation of these
archaeological collections.
Acknowledgements
The first author would like to thank Professors Nicholas Toth
and Kathy Schick from the Stone Age Institute & Indiana University,
USA for discussions and instructive comments. Thanks to Professors Mohamed Sahnouni and Sileshi Semaw from the Spanish
National Research Centre for Human Evolution, Spain for their
valuable conversations. Further thanks are due to the colleagues
from IVPP and antiquities personnel of the Ningxia Hui Auto
Autonomous Region who facilitated the fieldwork. We are also
grateful to Haili Xiao and Dong Tian (Computer Network Information Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for help with Fig. 5 and
Fig. 10. This work was financially supported by the National Basic
Research Program of China (973 Program) (2010CB950203), the
National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.
41372032), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese
Academy of Sciences (XDA05130203), and the National Research
Foundation (Grant No. 88480) of South Africa (in the International
Science and Technology Grant Program) and the Ministry of Science
and Technology in China. Our thanks go to Profs Liu Wu and R.J.
Clarke for the latter funding as co-directors of the bilateral program. We take full responsibility for any errors that may be present.
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