New Advances in Paleolithic Sites and Early Human Settlement

Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

The goal of this Topic is to set out a series of papers on recent progress in Paleolithic sites and early human settlements in Eurasia from a multidisciplinary perspective. In recent years, some new hominin fossils and Paleolithic sites have been found and unearthed. Interdisciplinary research on these within the field of Paleolithic Studies has made many important advances, providing fresh data and information towards a more comprehensive understanding of the evolution and dispersal of early humans. These have included, for example, recovering Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from sediments deposited in Baishiya Cave on the Tibetan Plateau, optically stimulated luminescence dating of the earliest occupation at the Nwya Devu site of modern humans in the high-altitude hinterland Tibetan Plateau, and multimethod dating of the late arrival of anatomically modern humans in southern China. This multidisciplinary topic will collect recent developments in Paleolithic studies, including stone artifacts, the fossil record, palaeobiology, stratigraphy, taphonomy, chronology, ancient DNA, palaeoecology and palaeoenvironment. We hope that this multidisciplinary topic will further encourage interdisciplinary research on hominin fossils and Paleolithic sites in Eurasia and the other regions covered here.

Prof. Dr. John W. Olsen
Dr. Xuefeng Sun
Prof. Dr. Dongju Zhang
Dr. Junyi Ge
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Heritage heritage	2.0	2.9	2018	17.7 Days	CHF 1600
Minerals minerals	2.2	4.1	2011	18 Days	CHF 2400
Quaternary quaternary	2.3	3.3	2018	50 Days	CHF 1600
Geosciences geosciences	2.4	5.3	2011	26.2 Days	CHF 1800
Land land	3.2	4.9	2012	17.8 Days	CHF 2600

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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All Heritage Minerals Quaternary Geosciences Land

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11 pages, 7431 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Terminal Pleistocene Human Occupation of the Qomolangma Region: New Evidence from the Su-re Site

by Ziyi Yang, Yingshuai Jin, Yunyao Tan, Junyi Ge, Shejiang Wang, Xing Gao, John W. Olsen and Xiaoling Zhang

Land 2024, 13(7), 1064; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13071064 - 16 Jul 2024

Viewed by 949

Abstract

Lithic artifacts are crucial for elucidation of the temporal and spatial patterns of prehistoric human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau. Core-and-flake technology is particularly noteworthy, as it is distinguished by its broad temporal span and widespread distribution across the plateau. In this study, [...] Read more.

Lithic artifacts are crucial for elucidation of the temporal and spatial patterns of prehistoric human occupation of the Tibetan Plateau. Core-and-flake technology is particularly noteworthy, as it is distinguished by its broad temporal span and widespread distribution across the plateau. In this study, we present the results of a reassessment of the lithic assemblage from the Su-re site in Tingri County, Shigatse City, Xizang Autonomous Region, China. Its resemblance to lithic assemblages from Southwestern China implies a close relationship between the plateau and its southeastern vicinity, contributing to the diversification of technology and prehistoric humans on the Tibetan Plateau. Moreover, gneissic pebbles transported by glacial meltwater in the Tingri Graben—the most suitable raw material available in the vicinity—explains the presence of prehistoric humans in the inhospitable Qomolangma region. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Advances in Paleolithic Sites and Early Human Settlement)

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16 pages, 2804 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Changes in Prehistoric Land Use in Upper and Middle Reaches of Yellow River Valley

by Yajie Luan, Yanyan Yu and Huiyong Yin

Land 2024, 13(6), 784; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060784 - 1 Jun 2024

Viewed by 816

Abstract

During the Holocene, the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River valley in China were pivotal areas for agricultural development. Quantitatively reconstructing the spatiotemporal changes in prehistoric human land use is essential for understanding, from a long-term perspective, the interactions among evolutions [...] Read more.

During the Holocene, the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River valley in China were pivotal areas for agricultural development. Quantitatively reconstructing the spatiotemporal changes in prehistoric human land use is essential for understanding, from a long-term perspective, the interactions among evolutions of climate, agriculture, and human activities. Based on 327 archaeological sites and the PLUM (prehistoric land use model), we quantitatively reconstructed human land use changes from 6 to 3 ka BP (thousands of years before the present) in the Tao River valley, the second-largest tributary in the upper reach of the Yellow River valley. The results indicated that regional land use areas increased from 571 km² to 1468 km², with spatial expansion from the lower reach to the upper–middle reach of the Tao River valley. A comparison of the five areas distributed across the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River valley revealed two different trends of increasing land use from 8 to 3 ka BP within these areas. The first group (the Wei River and Yiluo River valleys) exhibited rapid and substantial growth before 5 ka BP, while the second group (the Huangshui River and Tao River valleys, and the Yunlin district) showed a much slower and less significant increase before 5 ka BP, but a more obvious increase thereafter. The asynchronous increases in these areas indicate an expansion of land use from the southeastern part of the upper and middle reaches of the Yellow River Valley to across the entire region between 8 and 3 ka BP, which was primarily driven by agricultural development and cultural communication. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Advances in Paleolithic Sites and Early Human Settlement)

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21 pages, 2734 KiB  

Open AccessReview

The Suitability of Prehistoric Human Settlements from the Perspective of the Residents

by Bo Tan, Chengbang An, Chao Lu, Lei Tang and Lai Jiang

Land 2023, 12(12), 2094; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12122094 - 22 Nov 2023

Viewed by 2606

Abstract

The study of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements (SPHE) can help us reproduce the process and characteristics of prehistoric human settlements, and is an important entry point for exploring the relationship between prehistoric humans and land. In this study, we discuss the [...] Read more.

The study of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements (SPHE) can help us reproduce the process and characteristics of prehistoric human settlements, and is an important entry point for exploring the relationship between prehistoric humans and land. In this study, we discuss the definition, compositional structure, evolutionary mechanism, and spatiotemporal representation of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements, and propose its main research lines and possible research contents. We believe that the suitability of prehistoric human settlement environments refers to the ability and process of natural and social environmental conditions to meet the needs of human survival within a certain spatial range centered on the settlement of prehistoric humans. Additionally, with the temporal and spatial evolution of humans, society, and nature, it shows local consistency and global gradual and continuous change characteristics, and the human settlement environment has a suitability hierarchy of natural original, livelihood, and living spaces nested step by step. We believe that we can adopt the main research line of prehistoric human settlement suitability system construction to conduct extensive experiments and demonstrations on the theoretical construction, the evolution of the environment and living process, the relationship and evaluation of prehistoric human needs, the transformation of the living environment, living adaptation theories and models, and value and limitation verification. Thus, a complete research system can be formed to explore the evolution of the prehistoric human–land relationship. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Advances in Paleolithic Sites and Early Human Settlement)

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26 pages, 6701 KiB  

Open AccessReview

Glacial–Interglacial Cycles and Early Human Evolution in China

by Zhenyu Qin and Xuefeng Sun

Land 2023, 12(9), 1683; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091683 - 28 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2747

Abstract

China is a crucial region for investigating the relationship between climate change and hominin evolution across diverse terrestrial ecosystems. With the continuous development of palaeoclimatology, chronology, and archaeology, the environmental and hominin record of the Early and Middle Pleistocene in China is steadily [...] Read more.

China is a crucial region for investigating the relationship between climate change and hominin evolution across diverse terrestrial ecosystems. With the continuous development of palaeoclimatology, chronology, and archaeology, the environmental and hominin record of the Early and Middle Pleistocene in China is steadily accumulating, shedding light on the effects of climate change on the distribution of early human settlements and population dynamics. However, the migration and dispersal of these early humans within long-term climate fluctuations and their underlying mechanisms remain to be clarified. Based on the spatial-temporal distribution of 95 Early to Middle Pleistocene archaeological sites in China, we found that intensified hominin activities gradually shifted southward under the influence of multiple glacial–interglacial cycles. The frequent bidirectional movements of these early humans between north and south were assumed as follows. During glacial periods, hominins living in North China migrated to southern areas, while inter-glacial periods witnessed the northward expansion of hominins inhabiting South China. Among all the potential driving mechanisms, we suggest that the available resources in terrestrial ecosystems may be the most fundamental factor. Combined with paleoenvironmental and archaeological records, we provide an Asian perspective for a better understanding of how the glacial–interglacial cycles shaped early human evolution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic New Advances in Paleolithic Sites and Early Human Settlement)

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