Research On The Production Of Stone Tools In The Longshan Period At The Yanzhai Site In Yuzhou

A large number of Longshan Age stone tools and related blanks,blocks,and fragments produced during the production process were unearthed at the Yanzhai Site in Yuzhou,providing a material basis for studying the production technology,production process,specialization,and organizational form of stone tools.This article is guided by the concept of "operation chain",and studies and restores the production technology and process of stone tools at the Yanzhai site through observation,analysis,and simulation experiments on the production traces of blank materials,taking the stone shovel as an example.The production marks on the stone shovel blank show that the stone shovel blank mainly undergoes four production techniques: drilling,chiseling,grinding,and pipe drilling.The chiseling and grinding processes are disordered,and drilling and pipe drilling are independent production processes,and there may be spatial differences in processing locations.The production of stone tools at the Yanzhai site has undergone a division of functions.The selection and transportation department of stone materials may only be responsible for the preliminary processing and transportation of stone materials,and may not participate in the production process of stone tools.Therefore,in order to complete the task,the quality of material selection will be reduced.There are non professionals involved in the grinding process of stone shovel production,and these non professionals should include children with smaller strength who use handheld grinding to grind the blank.It was also found that pipe drilling technology is a regulated technology,and some users of stone shovels can only drill holes by cutting.By analyzing the various production factors of the stone handicraft industry at the Yanzhai site,it is inferred that the stone tool production at the Yanzhai site has already belonged to a mature community specialized production stage.The production of stone tools during the Longshan period at the Yanzhai site far exceeded the scale of the settlement’s own use.The unearthed high-level relics of the Longshan period,such as eggshell pottery high handle cups,elephant trunk He,ivory walls,and jade axes,indicate the special position of the Yanzhai site in the Yinghe River Valley.According to the results of rock lithology identification and field archaeological surveys in the surrounding areas,the Yanzhai Site was an important specialized stone tool production settlement in the Yinghe River Valley during the Longshan period.The output products were mainly stone shovels,stone knives,and stone tools.The output targets included small and medium-sized settlements in the surrounding areas that were far away from the stone production area during the same period,as well as core settlements with a high demand for stone tools,and even the possibility of exporting to the eastern region of Henan far away from the stone production area.