TY - JOUR
T1 - Zooarchaeological perspectives on the Chinese Early and Late Paleolithic from the Ma'anshan site (Guizhou, South China)
AU - Zhang, Yue
AU - Stiner, Mary C.
AU - Dennell, Robin
AU - Wang, Chunxue
AU - Zhang, Shuangquan
AU - Gao, Xing
N1 - Funding Information:
We are grateful to Zhang Senshui, Long Fengxiang, An Jiayuan, Wang Xinjin and Cai Huiyang who excavated the Ma’anshan site in 1986 and 1990, appreciate the help from Qi Guoqin, Zhang Zhaoqun, Deng Tao, Tong Haowen and Liu Jinyi in identifying the bones, and also thank Christopher J. Norton, who provided the model of the Access data base. Supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400 ), International Cooperation Program of MST of China (Grant No. 2007DFB20330 ), and State key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS) (Grant No. 09312 ).
PY - 2010/8
Y1 - 2010/8
N2 - Ma'anshan is a Paleolithic cave site in the Guizhou province of southern China. The total area of the excavations is ca. 48 m2, and the cultural deposit is divided into two layers representing the Chinese Late Paleolithic and the later part of the Early Paleolithic. The upper layer dates between 19,295 BP and 31,155 BP by AMS technique, and the lower layer is dated to around 53,000 BP by U-Series technique. Thousands of bone fragments were recovered from the two layers. Species abundance, bone surface modifications, skeletal element representation, and mortality patterns were studied in an investigation of assemblage formation history and patterns of prey selection and meat consumption by hominins. Interpretations of the faunal data are strengthened by reference to experimental studies and ethnoarchaeological data. The zooarchaeological data indicate that the later occupants of Ma'anshan Cave hunted mainly medium and small game animals, while the earlier occupants tended to prey upon larger animals. In the later period, hominins also made fuller use of the carcasses. The breadth of the meat diet increased with time, due to the inclusion of quick small animals (bamboo rats and birds) in the later period. The differences between the two faunal assemblages are consistent with the chronologic boundary currently drawn between the Chinese Early and Late Paleolithic ca. 30-27 ka BP, based on technological and other evidence.
AB - Ma'anshan is a Paleolithic cave site in the Guizhou province of southern China. The total area of the excavations is ca. 48 m2, and the cultural deposit is divided into two layers representing the Chinese Late Paleolithic and the later part of the Early Paleolithic. The upper layer dates between 19,295 BP and 31,155 BP by AMS technique, and the lower layer is dated to around 53,000 BP by U-Series technique. Thousands of bone fragments were recovered from the two layers. Species abundance, bone surface modifications, skeletal element representation, and mortality patterns were studied in an investigation of assemblage formation history and patterns of prey selection and meat consumption by hominins. Interpretations of the faunal data are strengthened by reference to experimental studies and ethnoarchaeological data. The zooarchaeological data indicate that the later occupants of Ma'anshan Cave hunted mainly medium and small game animals, while the earlier occupants tended to prey upon larger animals. In the later period, hominins also made fuller use of the carcasses. The breadth of the meat diet increased with time, due to the inclusion of quick small animals (bamboo rats and birds) in the later period. The differences between the two faunal assemblages are consistent with the chronologic boundary currently drawn between the Chinese Early and Late Paleolithic ca. 30-27 ka BP, based on technological and other evidence.
KW - Bone surface modifications
KW - Chinese Paleolithic
KW - Ma'anshan site
KW - Mortality patterns
KW - Skeletal element representation
KW - Species abundance
KW - Zooarchaeology
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jas.2010.03.012
DO - 10.1016/j.jas.2010.03.012
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:77953963283
SN - 0305-4403
VL - 37
SP - 2066
EP - 2077
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science
IS - 8
ER -