Large cutting tools in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region, central China: typology, technology and morphology

Abstract

The progress achieved on research of the different handaxe-bearing regions of China is making the study of the Acheulean an exciting and important field in the Chinese Palaeolithic. However, compared with other well-known Large Cutting Tool or LCT-bearing regions, e.g., Bose in southern China and Luonan in central China, the work in the Danjiangkou Reservoir Region (DRR) is still at the stage of data collection, and deeper research into the meaning of these materials is still under way. In international academic circles, the DRR is almost never considered in the latest discussions about the Chinese Acheulean. The work in this thesis attempts to improve this situation. The thesis is presented as four published papers and one submitted paper of Acheulean materials from the DRR, central China. Through a detailed study of these materials from typological, technological and morphological perspectives, I have now achieved significant understanding of the Acheulean techno-complex in DRR, especially in its regional variability and adaptation compared with other Acheulean regions in China. Lastly, the questions that are still awaiting resolution in the future are also discussed.