Pleistocene Human Migration and Technology in East Asia

**115**

**Chapter 6**

China

**Abstract**

sharp edges of tools.

**1. Introduction**

industry

A Macroscopic Perspective on

Lithic Technology and Human

Behavior during Pleistocene in

*Hong Chen, Jiying Liu, Xinmin Xu and Huiru Lian*

Zhejiang Province, Southeastern

Paleolithic archeological remains were not reported from Zhejiang until 2002. Up to now, over 70 Paleolithic sites and/or localities have been recovered through a series of surveys mainly in the north part of Zhejiang. An overview of the Paleolithic record and archeological sequence in this region during the Early to Late Pleistocene are present from a macroscopic perspective in this article, as well as the brief introduction of lithic technology and human adaptation in south China. In general, the lithic assemblages in Zhejiang represent the features of Pebble Industry in south China and show a trend of reduction on the size of stone artifacts since the Late Paleolithic. It is presumed that prehistoric humankind has shown the behavioral strategies as followed: a) exploited local raw material; b) the utilization of core and the degree of proficiency in knapping have been improved gradually; c) the retouching focused on the areas of edges; and d) preferred to use

**Keywords:** Zhejiang, Pleistocene, lithic technology, human adaptation, pebble

Zhejiang Province (118°01′ ~ 123°08′E, 27°01′ ~ 31°10'N) is a southeastern coastal region of China. Its name derives from the Zhi River, the former name of the Qiantang River which flows past Hangzhou and into the East China Sea (**Figure 1**). The landscape in Zhejiang consists mostly of hills, which reach altitudes of 700 to 1500 meters. Most rivers carve out valleys in the highlands, with plenty of rapids and other features associated with such topography. Its modern weather is dominated by humid subtropical climate, and average annual temperature is around 15–19°C (59–66°F). Pleistocene sediments are distributed widely on the second terraces of rivers with lots of valleys, plains and karst caves, which provided a good natural environment for hominid to live and multiply. However, most regional prehistoric
