从技术组织论视角阐释中国古人类石器技术的多样性

石器的演化历史与早期人类技术活动的投入成本密切相关,也在一定程度上受制于可获取的原料与利用的动植物资源。克拉克有关早期人类的石器技术演化的5种技术模式,在解释旧大陆古人类技术演化具有深远的影响。然而,生活在东亚特别是中国北方地区的古人类,石制品文化面貌在约40 ka BP一直以石核-石片技术体系占据主导地位。学术界一般以中国本土旧石器文化传统根深蒂固,与西方文化交流有限为原因,解释这种石器技术发展的不平衡现象。本文以石制品生产技术组织的研究理念为出发点,强调精致加工代表人群的高投入技术与行为,在中国境内以模式2、3为代表,其产品可在一定程度上作为文化标识反映了外来人群的扩散,体现了东、西方文化有限交流;而权宜技术则多为低投入的技术与行为活动,以石核-石片技术体系为代表,随时间推移不断继承发展。同时,石核-石片技术体系在中国盛行的现象,表明本地古人类对一种比较成功的适应策略的坚持和继承,分布区域局限、内在技术变异程度相对较低的模式2、3技术,更有可能是欧亚大陆西侧和非洲规模有限的人群扩散或技术传播的结果。

On the diversity of Chinese lithic technologies from a technological organization perspective

The evolution of stone artifact assemblages has a close relationship to the investment (time and energy) in stone tools’ making. In other words, it is also subject to the availability of the lithic raw materials, animal and plant resources which can be obtained by early humans. According to Paleolithic archaeological records around the world, G. Clark characterized the evolution of lithic technology into five different modes which made great influence in explaining the technological evolution of early humans in the Old World. However, it should be noted that early hominins lived in North China and even East Asia adopted Core and Flake techno-complex before 40 ka BP. To explain this phenomenon, scholars proposed a point of view that this due to a strong local cultural tradition in China, and limited cultural exchange between west and east hinders the development of technological characterization. This paper focus on the research scopes of technological organization and the dichotomy of the expedient or curated stone tool manufactured strategies. It can be inferred that the prevalence of Core and Flake techno-complex in China represents a successful adaptation which represents to a low-cost expedience strategy. On the contrary, a small amount of Mode 2 and Mode 3 lithic technology in China can be explained to a relatively high-cost curation strategy. In addition, the high-cost lithic strategy of relatively advanced technology of Mode 2 and Mode 3 delivers the cultural symbol which represent cultural transmission from west to east, while low-cost lithic strategy of Core and Flake techno-complex in China may indicate the cultural inheritance and development. Furthermore, the persistence of Core and Flake Techno-complex in China can be interpreted as the successful adaptation to the local raw materials and animal and plant resources, on the other hand, the sporadic and low-frequency variation of relatively high-cost strategy of Mode 2 and Mode 3 assemblages may present the limited early hominins’ migration (low effective group size) and technical transmission from west Eurasia and Africa to China and even East Asia.