The Mid-Lestic Age is considered a dynamic period in European and African history, but is generally considered a static period in East Asia. The discovery of a series of refined stone tools at Long Tang Sight in southwestern China, 50,000-60,000 years ago, challenges that recognition.
A product from the Quina system located at Longtan Site, China. Image credits: Luan et al. , doi: 10.1073/pnas.2418029122.
The Paleolithic period in the Central era occurred about 300,000-40,000 years ago and is considered an important time in human evolution.
This period is related to the origins and evolution of modern African people.
In Eurasia, it is associated with the development of several archaic human groups, such as the Neanderthals and Denisovan.
However, there is a widely believed belief that in most of the Paleostemic period, China’s development had slowed.
“Our discoveries challenge our current understanding of human history and technological development in East Asia,” said Professor Beau Lee of the University of Wollongong.
“This finding challenges a long-established general theory among archaeologists that China-China tools are relatively simple and unchanged.”
Professor Li and colleagues unearthed a rich collection of stone tools at the Longtan archaeological site in Yunnan, China.
This tool revealed a complete kina technology system that includes the cores used to generate large and thick flakes.
The Kina Industry is one of the most representative tool creation strategies developed in the Mid Paleolithic period around 300,000-40,000 years ago.
It is characterized by a steeply scaled retouch of thick flakes, which often produces robust scrapers with heavy edge modifications associated with neanderthals, representing strategies developed during marine isotope stage 4 as a response to open forest grassland environments and cool/dry climates.
The Kina Technical System was discovered in Western and Southern Europe during this period, but was not thought to have existed in East Asia.
The wear traces of Longtanquina scrape suggest that they are used in a variety of materials, including bones, horns, wood, meat, skin, and non-slow plants.
“Evidence has shown that the discoveries at Longtan significantly broadened the geographical distribution of human species, the tools used, and the adaptability to adapt to a variety of climates and environments,” Professor Li said.
“The discovery of Longtan also provides a perspective to understand how the human-leeze species evolved and evolved in East Asia prior to the massive arrival of early modern people 45,000 years ago.”
“Understanding rather old artifacts forces us to rethink models of human migration patterns and technology evolution in this part of the world.”
“This opens an exciting new avenue for research and, as we know, can rewrite East Asia’s prehistoric period.”
a paper The survey results were published this week Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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Qi-Jun Ruan et al. 2025. Kinarithic technology demonstrates the diverse late Pleistocene human dynamics of East Asia. pnas 122 (14): E2418029122; doi: 10.1073/pnas.2418029122
Source: www.sci.news
