via Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 13 January 2024: The Fodongdi Cave in Southwest China’s tropical-subtropical zone has offered new insights into the terminal Pleistocene era, revealing significant technological advancements in lithic tools from 18.37 to 13.85 cal ka BP. Paper by Huan et al.
The terminal Pleistocene witnessed significant paleoclimatic changes that influenced the adaptive behavior of human populations. Situated in the tropical-subtropical zone of Southwest China, a newly excavated cave site, Fodongdi, revealed evidence for substantive changes in technology between 18.37 to 13.85 cal ka BP. Here, we present the results of a technological analysis on lithic assemblage formation across three main sequential phases at Fodongdi Cave. Diachronic changes in lithic technology document the co-existence of diverse reduction techniques and toolkits, corresponding with climatic fluctuations over a five-thousand-year period.
