
Stone tools discovered at Xiaochangliang site
'Xiaochangliang' () is the site of some of the earliest
paleolithic remains in
East Asia, located in the Nihewan Basin in
Yangyuan County,
Hebei,
China, most famous for the
stone tools discovered there.
Stone Tools
The tool forms disocvered include
side and end scrapers, notches,
burins, and disc cores. Although it is generally more difficult to date Asian sites than
African sites because Asian sites typically lack volcanic materials that can be dated isotopically, the age of the tools has been
magnetostratigraphically dated as 1.36 million years. This method is more accurate than
carbon dating since it uses the data of changes caused by earth's magnetic field.
Research
The site was first discovered by a
French scientist in 1935 who found only one stone tool, and at the time many scientists debated as to whether this tool was naturally formed or manufactured by early man. From 1972-1978, more than 2000 pieces of stone tools were discovered, together with some bone tools, which confirmed its status as a paleolithic site.
External links
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Earliest Presence of Humans in Northeast Asia