https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04445-2
Abstract
Homo sapiens was present in northern Asia by around 40,000 years ago, having replaced archaic populations across Eurasia after episodes of earlier population
expansions and interbreeding. Cultural adaptations of the last
Neanderthals, the
Denisovans and the incoming populations of H. sapiens into Asia remain
unknown.
Here we describe Xiamabei, a well-preserved, approximately 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern China, which includes the earliest known ochre-processing feature in east Asia, a distinctive miniaturized lithic assemblage
with bladelet-like tools bearing traces of hafting, and a bone tool. The cultural
assembly of traits at Xiamabei is unique for Eastern Asia and does not correspond
with those found at other archaeological site assemblages inhabited by
archaic
populations or those generally associated with the expansion of H.
sapiens, such
as the Initial Upper Palaeolithic8,9,10. The record of northern Asia
supports a
process of technological innovations and cultural diversification emerging
in a
period of hominin hybridization and admixture.
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