Lu Teng , Xuefeng Sun , Hui Liu , Na Zhao , Shuangwen Yi , Feng Li , Xiaoqi Guo , Yuan Yao , Yinghua Wang , Christopher J. Bae , Huayu Lu
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Four of these were initially excavated and found to contain buried Paleoliths, and the other seven sites had stone tools distributed on the surface. The stone artifact collections include microblades, small flakes, and scrapers, representing typical stone tool types of the Late Paleolithic in northern China. We applied Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) <sup>14</sup>C dating to the buried sites’ stratigraphy and OSL dating to the underlying stratigraphy of the surface sites. The results suggest that: human foragers obtained water and possibly hunted near small lakes that were present in interdune basins (BDJL1-2) after 10.1 ka; humans settled in the rockshelter (BDJL3) and the cave (BDJL4) in the mountain basin around 5.9 ka and between 6.4 and 6.2 cal ka BP, separately; foragers hunted and used water in the proluvial fan margin with relatively favorable water and vegetation conditions (BDJL5-11) between approximately 9.3 ka and 7.6 ka, even later; humans collected stone materials and possibly used water along seasonal streams at the proluvial fan outlet (MDLS1-7) after approximately 7.3 ka. Temperature and precipitation simulated by Trace-21ka indicate that the climate of the BDJL was relatively warm and humid during the Early and Middle Holocene. The combination of better moisture conditions and increasing population density as evidenced by the increased number of microblade sites in the Yellow River Basin likely drove the migration and dispersal of human populations into the desert. This study reveals the diversity in resource utilization and the relative abundance of different activities by Late Paleolithic hunter-gatherers during the Early and Middle Holocene in the currently resource-scarce BDJL. The resource exploitation patterns of the BDJL human foraging groups provide new insights into prehistoric human adaptations to desert regions in northwestern China.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20926,"journal":{"name":"Quaternary Science Reviews","volume":"367 ","pages":"Article 109542"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2000,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Newly discovered Late Paleolithic sites in the southeastern margin of the Badain Jaran Desert, northwest China\",\"authors\":\"Lu Teng , Xuefeng Sun , Hui Liu , Na Zhao , Shuangwen Yi , Feng Li , Xiaoqi Guo , Yuan Yao , Yinghua Wang , Christopher J. Bae , Huayu Lu\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.quascirev.2025.109542\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><div>The Badain Jaran Desert (BDJL) is the second largest desert in China and is largely uninhabitable today. However, a number of Paleolithic cultural remains have been found in and around the BDJL, suggestive of earlier occupations by human foragers. Unfortunately, most of these artifacts were surface collected and lack reliable radiometric dates, making it difficult to further understand when prehistoric peoples entered the desert and how they survived once there. As a result of recent multidisciplinary fieldwork, eleven new lithic sites (BDJL1-11) were discovered in the southeastern margin of the BDJL. Four of these were initially excavated and found to contain buried Paleoliths, and the other seven sites had stone tools distributed on the surface. The stone artifact collections include microblades, small flakes, and scrapers, representing typical stone tool types of the Late Paleolithic in northern China. We applied Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) <sup>14</sup>C dating to the buried sites’ stratigraphy and OSL dating to the underlying stratigraphy of the surface sites. The results suggest that: human foragers obtained water and possibly hunted near small lakes that were present in interdune basins (BDJL1-2) after 10.1 ka; humans settled in the rockshelter (BDJL3) and the cave (BDJL4) in the mountain basin around 5.9 ka and between 6.4 and 6.2 cal ka BP, separately; foragers hunted and used water in the proluvial fan margin with relatively favorable water and vegetation conditions (BDJL5-11) between approximately 9.3 ka and 7.6 ka, even later; humans collected stone materials and possibly used water along seasonal streams at the proluvial fan outlet (MDLS1-7) after approximately 7.3 ka. 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引用次数: 0
摘要
巴丹吉林沙漠(BDJL)是中国第二大沙漠,今天大部分不适合居住。然而,在BDJL及其周围发现了许多旧石器时代的文化遗迹,暗示了人类觅食者早期的职业。不幸的是,这些文物大多是在地表收集的,缺乏可靠的辐射测定日期,这使得进一步了解史前人类何时进入沙漠以及他们如何在那里生存下来变得困难。近年来,通过多学科的野外考察,在BDJL东南缘发现了11个新的岩屑遗址(BDJL1-11)。其中四个最初被挖掘出来,发现含有埋藏的旧石器时代,其他七个遗址在地表上发现了石器工具。石器藏品包括微刀片、小薄片和刮刀,代表了中国北方旧石器时代晚期的典型石器类型。利用光学激发发光(OSL)和加速器质谱(AMS) 14C测年技术对埋藏遗址的地层进行测年,对地表遗址的下伏地层进行OSL测年。结果表明:10.1 ka后,人类采集者在沙丘间盆地(BDJL1-2)的小湖泊附近获取水源并可能狩猎;人类分别在5.9 ka前后和6.4 ~ 6.2 cal ka BP之间定居于山盆岩洞(BDJL3)和岩洞(BDJL4);在大约9.3 ~ 7.6 ka之间,甚至更晚,觅食者在水和植被条件相对有利的洪积扇边缘(BDJL5-11)狩猎和用水;大约7.3 ka后,人类在洪积扇出口(MDLS1-7)沿季节溪流收集石头材料并可能用水。Trace-21ka模拟的温度和降水表明,全新世早期和中期BDJL气候相对温暖湿润。黄河流域微叶片遗址数量的增加表明,较好的湿度条件和不断增加的人口密度可能推动了人类向沙漠的迁移和分散。该研究揭示了全新世早期和中期旧石器时代晚期狩猎采集者在资源利用上的多样性和不同活动的相对丰度。BDJL人类觅食群体的资源开发模式为史前人类对西北荒漠地区的适应提供了新的认识。
Newly discovered Late Paleolithic sites in the southeastern margin of the Badain Jaran Desert, northwest China
The Badain Jaran Desert (BDJL) is the second largest desert in China and is largely uninhabitable today. However, a number of Paleolithic cultural remains have been found in and around the BDJL, suggestive of earlier occupations by human foragers. Unfortunately, most of these artifacts were surface collected and lack reliable radiometric dates, making it difficult to further understand when prehistoric peoples entered the desert and how they survived once there. As a result of recent multidisciplinary fieldwork, eleven new lithic sites (BDJL1-11) were discovered in the southeastern margin of the BDJL. Four of these were initially excavated and found to contain buried Paleoliths, and the other seven sites had stone tools distributed on the surface. The stone artifact collections include microblades, small flakes, and scrapers, representing typical stone tool types of the Late Paleolithic in northern China. We applied Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Accelerator Mass Spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating to the buried sites’ stratigraphy and OSL dating to the underlying stratigraphy of the surface sites. The results suggest that: human foragers obtained water and possibly hunted near small lakes that were present in interdune basins (BDJL1-2) after 10.1 ka; humans settled in the rockshelter (BDJL3) and the cave (BDJL4) in the mountain basin around 5.9 ka and between 6.4 and 6.2 cal ka BP, separately; foragers hunted and used water in the proluvial fan margin with relatively favorable water and vegetation conditions (BDJL5-11) between approximately 9.3 ka and 7.6 ka, even later; humans collected stone materials and possibly used water along seasonal streams at the proluvial fan outlet (MDLS1-7) after approximately 7.3 ka. Temperature and precipitation simulated by Trace-21ka indicate that the climate of the BDJL was relatively warm and humid during the Early and Middle Holocene. The combination of better moisture conditions and increasing population density as evidenced by the increased number of microblade sites in the Yellow River Basin likely drove the migration and dispersal of human populations into the desert. This study reveals the diversity in resource utilization and the relative abundance of different activities by Late Paleolithic hunter-gatherers during the Early and Middle Holocene in the currently resource-scarce BDJL. The resource exploitation patterns of the BDJL human foraging groups provide new insights into prehistoric human adaptations to desert regions in northwestern China.
期刊介绍:
Quaternary Science Reviews caters for all aspects of Quaternary science, and includes, for example, geology, geomorphology, geography, archaeology, soil science, palaeobotany, palaeontology, palaeoclimatology and the full range of applicable dating methods. The dividing line between what constitutes the review paper and one which contains new original data is not easy to establish, so QSR also publishes papers with new data especially if these perform a review function. All the Quaternary sciences are changing rapidly and subject to re-evaluation as the pace of discovery quickens; thus the diverse but comprehensive role of Quaternary Science Reviews keeps readers abreast of the wider issues relating to new developments in the field.