The remnants of an Old Stone Age culture were found less than 100 miles west of Beijing.
The archaeological site, called Xiamabei, offers a rare glimpse into the life of humans 40,000 years ago.
The Nihewan Basin is a depression in a mountainous region of northern China. The culture was found about 8 feet underground and was dated to between 41,000 and 39,000 years ago.
More than 430 mammal bones, a hearth, a tool made of bone, and more than 400 small tools and artifacts were found in this Stone Age sediment.
The remains seemed to be in their original spots after the site was abandoned by the residents, according to the co-first author.
We can reveal a vivid picture of how people lived 40,000 years ago in Eastern Asia.
Back to the Stone Age: 17 key milestones in Paleolithic life.
The discovery of a 40,000-year-old layer of artifacts was a surprise, according to the co-senior author.
The collection of tiny stone tools suggests that the makers likely produced and used specialized tool kits, he said.
Wang et al., Nature 2022.
There is evidence that the stones were attached to a bone handle with plant fibers.
The report about the site and artifacts was published in the journal Nature.
There are two pieces of ochre with slightly different mineral compositions, as well as a limestone slab with smoothed areas stained with the crimson pigment, which is the evidence of the processing at Xiamabei. The team found the artifacts in close proximity to each other.
I don't think that anyone should be shocked that the inhabitants of what is now northern China 40,000 years ago were collecting and using the pigment, as they have been using it for many years.
Zipkin told Live Science in an email that the artifacts in the study are limited in number, but that he would be excited to see follow-up work on them.
The important part of the new study is that it is part of a suite of technologies and behaviors.
The first piece found at the site bore signs of having been abraded to produce a bright red powder, and the second piece had a more flaky texture.
An analysis led by d' Errico showed that different types of ochre had been pounded and then powdered.
The paper was written by Fa-Gang Wang, Francesco d'Errico, and Wang. The year 2022.
The pieces and equipment were found on a red patch of the site.
An analysis showed that the reddish material found near the ochre contained rocky fragments rich in iron and hematite, two minerals that give red ochre its distinct hue.
There are different mineral compositions for yellow and so-called specularite, which are types of ochre.
They were not able to determine how the pigment was used. Ochre can be used in a number of ways, such as in glue, rock art paint, and sunscreen, Zipkin said.
Distinguishing between symbolic and functional uses of ochre in the material culture record is an ongoing challenge for prehistoric archaeologists.
The nature of the stone tools at the site suggests that they may have been used as an ingredient in a hafting glue, meaning a sticky substance used to affix.
Zipkin said that the evidence doesn't mean that the pigment may have been used symbolically.
Archaeologists have found evidence of processing in Africa and Europe over 300,000 years ago, and there is evidence of use of the substance in Australia over 50,000 years ago.
The evidence for the use of ochre in Asia before 28,000 years ago was very sparse.
The team determined that the artifacts were likely used for multiple purposes, including boring through materials, hiding plant material, and cutting soft animal matter, based on the patterns of wear and linger on hafted lithics found at the site.
The unhafted lithics were likely to be used for many purposes, such as boring hard materials and cutting softer materials.
We are facing a complex technical system exploiting different raw materials to create highly effective, portable tools, used in a variety of activities.
The technology of small stone blades, known as microblades, began to spread throughout the region about 29,000 years ago.
The lithics at Xiambei are not microblades, but show similar features to the small stone tools, which leads her to wonder if these objects represent the root of later microblade technology.
Which archaic hominins actually occupied the area 40,000 years ago? Some clues point to modern humans, but the authors cannot be certain that their relatives were present at the site.
The lack of human fossils on the site makes it impossible to be certain that Homo sapiens occupied Xiamabei.
She said that modern human fossils have been found at two sites in the region, one of which is called the Zhoukoudian Upper Cave. The nearby fossils suggest that the hominins that visited Xiamabei may have been the same species as the modern humans.
We cannot completely disregard the possibility that other closely related human ancestors were not present in the vast landscapes of northern Asia.
Zipkin said that the evidence of hominins present at the site doesn't offer any clues as to who they were.
Further planned excavations at Xiamabei will help us better understand our evolutionary story.
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The article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.
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