Last Glacial Maximum Microblade Production at Shizitan 29 and its Implications for North China Pressure Technology

A techno-functional approach applied to the lithics of the Late Upper Palaeolithic Shizitan 29 site allows the identification of previously unrecognized technical features of microblade pressure production and new behavioral understanding of its evolution beginning ca. 26,000 cal b.p. These technical features may relate to the evolution of so-called boat-shaped cores, including the development of two blade scar sequences and the 8-like contour of the striking platform (likely related to fixing cores in a holding device). Counter to traditional typological lithic analyses centered on final core morphologies, we seek to identify technical objectives related to the required pressure production. In doing so, we argue that earlier semi-conical cores may have maximized the exploitation of the core volume, while subsequent boat-shaped cores developed to maximize the efficiency of the production of straight profile, regular blades. This allowed microblades to become a critical adaptation for final Pleistocene hunter-gatherers in northern East Asia.