A large Paleolithic site found in Daocheng, Ganzi, shows evidence that humans have set foot on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau 130,000 years ago

  The most exquisite hand axe remains in East Asia unearthed at the Pilo site

  The Paleolithic Age is the first stage of human history. It is generally believed that it began more than 3 million years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago.

  On the plateau at 3750 meters above sea level, has there been human activities in ancient times?

Recently, the Pilo site discovered by archaeologists in Daocheng County, Ganzi Prefecture, has brought people answers.

  On September 27, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held the "Archaeological China" major project progress work meeting, and for the first time released the important archaeological discoveries of the Pilo site in Daocheng.

  At the eastern foot of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau at an altitude of 3750 meters, the archaeologists have discovered a rare large-scale paleolithic tool with a special time and space location, large scale, well-preserved stratum, clear cultural sequence, rich relics, distinctive technical features, and multiple cultural factors. The wilderness site of the era-the Pilo site, and the most exquisite hand-axe remains in East Asia were found in the site, proving that the academic argument that "early human culture in the East lags behind the West" is pure nonsense.

  Experts believe that this is a new archaeological discovery with world-wide academic and socio-political significance, which will have an important academic influence at home and abroad.

  Incredible

  3750 meters above sea level plateau

  Discovery of nearly one million square meters of Paleolithic sites

  Beginning in 2019, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology organized relevant teams to carry out a special survey of Paleolithic archaeology in the Western Sichuan Plateau, and newly discovered 24 Paleolithic sites above 3000 meters above sea level in Ganzi Prefecture.

On May 12, 2020, the archaeological team discovered the Pilo site near Daocheng County.

  According to Zheng Zhexuan, director of the Paleolithic Research Office of the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the Pilo site is located in Qijiapingluo Village, Jinzhu Town, Daocheng County, about 2 kilometers away from Daocheng County, and 3750 meters above sea level. It is located near the second tributary of the Jinsha River. The third-level terraces of the river, with an overall area of ​​about 1 million square meters, are at least 130,000 years old.

  "It is incredible to find nearly a million square meters of Paleolithic sites on the plateau." Zheng Zhexuan said that since the excavation of the site, archaeologists have discovered nearly 10,000 stone products, of which 7 cultural layers have unearthed a total of 6,000. More than 3,000 pieces of stone products were collected from the surface, which shows that the frequency and intensity of the activities of ancient humans here is very high. "This has broken through our previous understanding."

  Abundant

  More than 6000 pieces of earthenware and stone tools were excavated

  The most exquisite hand axe remains in East Asia unearthed

  Approved by the State Administration of Cultural Relics, in April, the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, together with the School of Archaeology and Cultural Sciences, Peking University, organized a multidisciplinary research team to officially start archaeological excavations.

After 5 months of field excavation and systematic collection of surface relics, archaeologists have revealed multiple human activities and the remains of using fire and stone tools, and obtained more than 6000 stone products, optical luminescence dating, ancient DNA, Hundreds of multi-disciplinary research samples including particle size, magnetic susceptibility, pollen, soil micromorphology, and flotation soil samples.

  The remains of the hand axe, a representative stone tool of the Asheli culture, found in it is exciting.

According to reports, the Asheli culture is the early Paleolithic culture in Africa, Western Europe, West Asia and India.

It is named after Saint-Ascher, which was first discovered in the suburbs of Amiens, France.

  The Asheli remains found in East Asia are much rougher than the typical Western “Asheli stone tools” in terms of technology and exquisiteness. Therefore, there are many controversies in the international arena, and some scholars call them Asheli-like remains.

  The archaeological excavation at the Pilo site has unearthed the remains of the Asheli technology with the highest altitude, abundant number, and clear strata and age in the world. The unearthed stone products such as hand axes and thin blade axes are the most typical and most exquisitely crafted in East Asia. The Asheri combination with the most mature technology and the most complete combination.

  Experts such as Gao Xing, director of the Professional Committee of Chinese Paleolithic Archaeology, believe that the discovery is comparable to the late Asheli remains in the West, and it is the first time that the product of the unequivocal Asheli technology system has been discovered in East Asia.

  Special value

  Discovery of Remains of Hand Axe

  Resolve the "Movis Line" dispute

  The hand axe is an important tool created and used by humans in the early Paleolithic period. It is the first stereotyped tool in human history. It has symmetry and versatility. It can be used for felling, hunting, etc. Some people call it the "window of human soul".

  "Before making a hand axe, you need to form the basic appearance of the target product in your mind, which is called a'concept template' in professional terms. This shows that people at that time already have complex thinking capabilities. They know that they need a complex and regular target product. "Zheng Zhexuan said.

  In the 1940s, Harvard University anthropologist Morvis drew a "cultural line" from north-central England to the Indian plate of the Himalayas. He believed that in the Paleolithic period, it was located in the area west and south of the line. , Is an advanced region of early human culture, represented by the Asheli hand-axe cultural tradition; and China and other regions located to the east of this line are "culturally lagging marginal areas" characterized by the tradition of making choppers.

People later called this "cultural line" the Morvis line.

  The new discovery of the Pillow site made the theory of "Movis Line" self-defeating.

Experts such as Gao Xing believes that the remains of the Asheri technology found at the Pilo site can be said to have erased the "Movis Line" and put an end to the controversy.

  In addition, the spatial location of the Pilo site is also very important and sensitive.

According to experts, according to previous research, the sites in eastern Asia containing the remains of Asheli technology are scattered in the Indian-Pakistan subcontinent and China’s Baise, Guangxi, Yunan, Guangdong, Dongting, Hubei, Yunxian and Danjiangkou in Hubei, Hanzhong and Luonan, Shanxi, and Dingcun, Shanxi. And other regions.

The Pilo site and other sites with hand axes filled in a key gap and missing link in the technical system, connecting the Asheli cultural transmission belt between the Indo-Pakistani subcontinent, the north and south of China, and the Korean peninsula. Communication has special value and meaning.

  Significant

  Reveal early humans

  The historical process of conquering the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

  Not only that, Zheng Zexuan also told reporters that this Paleolithic site on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has fully preserved and systematically displayed the Paleolithic cultural development process of "gravel stone tool combination-Asheli technology system-stone chip stone system". The iconic Paleolithic cultural sequence in southwest China was established for the first time.

  What does the emergence of the three continuous cultures of "gravel stone tool combination-Asheli technology system-stone chip stone tool system" mean?

Zheng Zhexuan said: “Different stone tool combinations indicate that they may be created for different groups of people, or the same people’s technical adaptations to adapt to changes in the environment. It also shows that more than 100,000 years ago, ancient humans had Long-term and frequent activities." He said that three stages of human culture were found in the same place, which are very rare in the world. The three development stages represent cultural changes and can clearly reflect the historical process of human conquest of the plateau.

  Zheng Zhexuan said that, in particular, the continuous stratum accumulation, intact burial conditions, and clear evolutionary sequence of stone tools demonstrated the ability, methods, and historical process of early humans to conquer extreme environments at high altitudes, and provided information about the paleoenvironmental changes in the region and humans. Adapt to the important ecological background and chronological scale of the coupling relationship.

  West China Metropolis Daily-Cover News Reporter Dai Zhuxin

  According to the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology

  Pilo Ruins of Daocheng

  Four rare places

  A super-large Paleolithic site of approximately one million square meters

  The Pilo site has an overall area of ​​about 1 million square meters.

Experts said that the discovery of nearly one million square meters of Paleolithic sites in the alpine region is very incredible.

Such a large Paleolithic site is relatively rare at home and abroad.

  Has 7 cultural layers

  Since the excavation of the site, archaeologists have discovered 7 cultural layers and nearly 10,000 stone products.

This shows that the frequency and intensity of ancient human activities here is very high, breaking through people's previous understanding.

According to experts, under normal circumstances, it is difficult for the plateau denudation to accumulate strata.

However, in archaeology, in most cases, experts judge the site's age, environment and other background information based on the strata.

As far as the sites have been discovered on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, most of them have no stratum, and many have only one or two stratums.

The seven continuous cultural layers of the Pilo site are very rare, not only for archaeology, but also for the study of geology and other disciplines.

 Discover the complete stage of cultural development in the same place

  The Pilo site is intactly preserved and systematically displays the Paleolithic cultural development sequence of "gravel stone tool combination-Asheli technology system-stone chip stone system".

  According to experts, the discovery of three stages of human culture in one place is very rare not only on the plateau, but also in the entire world.

Different combinations of stone tools indicate that they may be created for different groups of people, or that the same group of people made technical adaptations in order to adapt to changes in the environment. It also shows that ancient humans had long-term and frequent activities here more than 100,000 years ago.

In particular, continuous stratum accumulation, intact burial conditions, and clear evolutionary sequence of stone tools show the historical process of early mankind’s ability and methods to conquer extreme environments at high altitudes.

Discover the remains of the most exquisite hand axe in East Asia

  The Pilo site has discovered the highest altitude, abundant, and clear stratum and age of the Asheli technology in the world. The unearthed stone products such as hand axe and thin blade axe are the most typical, most exquisitely crafted, and most mature in East Asia. The most complete Asheli combination.

This discovery completely resolved the debate about the "Movis Line" and provided valuable and critical evidence and information for the study and understanding of the relationship between Eastern and Western cultural exchanges in the Paleolithic period and people in different regions.