Cultural and social innovations in southwestern China during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

Abstract

The Pleistocene-Holocene transition witnessed diverse pathways to socio-economic complexity globally. In contrast to the agricultural trajectories, communities in the karst landscapes of southwestern China maintained a resilient, long-term foraging tradition. This study examines the technology and function of organic artifacts from Niupodong Cave, Guizhou, through the analysis of teeth and bone tools, and personal ornaments. The results reveal a diversified osseous technological repertoire, providing direct evidence for symbolic expression, garment making, freshwater fishing, and probable plant processing. Critically, the presence of marine shells indicates long-distance exchange or mobility networks linking this inland site to coastal regions at least 600 km away. These findings illuminate a pattern of gradual, locally embedded innovation where technological elaboration and expanding social networks enhanced a mixed foraging context without an immediate shift to agriculture. The Niupodong assemblage demonstrates the need to document regional technological and subsistence changes at a micro-scale to investigate the extent to which they relate to ecological resources, subsistence economy, and social organization during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition in southwestern China.