马鞍山旧石器遗址试掘报告

本文对新发现的贵州桐梓马鞍山旧石器时代文化遗址的试掘结果作扼要的报道。其文化面貌与分布宁黔西北及黔西南同时代者有一定的异同。

A BRIEF REPORT OF THE TENTATIVE EXCAVATION IN MA'ANSHAN PALEOLITHIC SITE

This paper deals with a preliminary observation of the site and a brief study of the materials which were tentatively excavated in Ma'anshan paleolithic site in 1981. The site is situated about 2 km to southeast of Dongzi city (E. 106°49′37″N. 28°07′18″) and was deposited in a rock-shelter. We removed a section of sediments of approximately 4m in length and 1.2m in depth. Deposits excavated in the site have been subdivided into 7 layers from which we uncountered remains of utilized fire, some fossils, 175 stone artifacts and some bone tools.
Fossils found in the present locality are very fragmentary and moderately mineralized, but those from layer 7 are strongly mineralized. The mammalian fossils contain Rodentia, Rhyzomys sp., Hystrix sp., Megatapirus argustus, Rhinoceros sp., Cervus sp., Muntiacus sp., Bubalus sp., Caprinae and Macaca sp. They may belong to Stegodon-Ailuropoda Fauna of southern China.
175 stone artifacts including cores, flakes, hammer stones, scrapers, pointed tools, (?) an awl, chopping tools, some bone tools by chopping and a polished bone tool were also found.
By a preliminary study of these specimens, we can see some general characters as follows:
1. Flakes were produced by direct percussion and bipolar technique. The direct percussion seems to have been a more important process in obtaining flakes than the bipolar technique.
2. Untrimmed utilized flakes are common.
3. Tools made on flakes are nearly equal to those made on cores in quantity.
4. Finished tools contain scrapers (78.3%), chopping tools(13.5%), pointed tools (5.4%) and an awl (P) (2.7%). Scrapers are the most common type in the assemblage.
5. Small tools that do not exceed 40 mm in length comprise 51.3%, while medium and large tools occupy 22.2% and 27.5% in the industry respectively.
6. Tools were mostly retouched by direct percussion, but two specimens were made by bipolar technique.
According to the stratigraphies, fossils and artifacts found in Ma’anshan site, we suggest that this paleolithic site belongs to upper Pleistocene or late paleolithic, but the materials from layer 7 are probably older than those found in layers 2-6. Layer 3 of deposits was dated to be 18000±1000 b.p. (Uraium series) or 15100±1500 b.p. (14C).
If the artifacts gathered in Ma’anshan site were compared with those found in other sites of Guizhou Province, we can see that this assemblage is more close to those found in Caohai where the cultural type was scattered over northwestern part of Guizhou than those found in Maomaodong where the cultural type was distributed over southwestern part of this province.