Research On Stone Artifacts From Chaoyang Paleolithic Cave Site In Jizhou District,Tianjin

Jizhou District,located in the northern part of Tianjin,contains all the Paleolithic sites found in Tianjin,which is of vital importance for research on ancient human activity in the region,so it can be called as the cradle of Paleolithic archaeology in Tianjin.The Chaoyang Cave site,sitting in the northern mountainous region of Jizhou District,was discovered during a survey of Paleolithic sites in 2015 and was formally excavated from July to September 2019,making it the first excavated Paleolithic cave site in Tianjin.The site consists of Cave 1 and Cave2,with pottery,stone artifacts and animal fossils unearthed from Cave1 and stone artifacts unearthed from Cave 2.Most of the stone artifacts of Cave 1 were excavated from Layer 1.The stone assemblage includes flakes,chunk and tool.Raw materials of them are hornstone,which are collected from the gravel layers on banks of the ancient Juhe river on Xinghua Mountain where the site is seated.Stone artifacts from Cave 2 were excavated form Layer 3,comprising flakes and tools.Flaking technique applied is direct hammer percussion.The type of tools is simple,including only scraper,point and notch,whereas most of their blanks are flakes.Tools appear to be modified only by direct hammer percussion,with modification on the dorsal surface,followed by ventral surface.The date of Cave 1 is around 35 ka B.P,filling the Paleolithic archaeological gap of Tianjin.The dating results of Cave 2are not yet available but based on the analysis of the stone artifacts and sediments,together with comparative studies with other Paleolithic sites and localities in Tianjin,it is assumed that the date could be not later than the Upper Paleolithic.Research on the Chaoyang Cave site is important for exploring the relationship between different Stone-tool industries in Tianjin,improving the chronological sequence of the Paleolithic and revealing early human behaviors in the area.