According to the Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology on the 23rd, a rare "wedge-shaped fine stone core technology stone tool primary processing plant" has been exposed at Site 5 of Xinmiaozhuang Site in the Nihewan Site Group. A well preserved "heat-treated stone material" kiln has been exposed on the ground of the cultural layer, which was first discovered in a Paleolithic site in East Asia and vividly presents the scene of Eastern human stone tool manufacturing 18000 to 15000 years ago. The Nihewan Site Group, located in Yangyuan County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, is renowned both at home and abroad. It has discovered a large number of ancient human cultural sites that have been concentrated for 2 million years and have a continuous cultural sequence. It is known as the "hometown of Eastern humans" and the "Odewe Canyon of China". The Xinmiaozhuang site is located in the deep mountains on the southern side of the central part of the Nihewan Basin. In 1986, more than 5000 stone products and animal fossils were discovered during excavation. There are a large number of tools for steep blade processing and repair of stone products, and some scholars believe that they have the style of Western "Most" technology, which is considered the most characteristic site of Western Paleolithic technology in northern China. According to Wang Fagang, director and researcher of the Paleolithic Archaeology Research Department at Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, since 2022, the institute has excavated sites 1 to 5 at the Xinmiaozhuang site and has confirmed six phases of remains. The No. 5 site excavated in 2024 belongs to the sixth phase of remains, which includes three natural layers from 4 to 6. The carbon-14 and photoluminescence dating of the sixth layer are 18000 to 15000 years ago. Excavations at location 5 revealed multiple layers of active surfaces for ancient human stone tool processing, revealing over 70000 stone artifacts. Wang Fagang stated that the site is located across the Sanggan River from the Yujiagou site during the transition period between the Old and New Stone Age. The stone tool technology used is wedge-shaped fine stone nucleus and fine stone leaf technology, showing a high degree of consistency. It should be the source of stone tool materials for the Hutongliang site group represented by the Yujiagou site, providing important information for exploring the collection, processing, and transportation of ancient human stone materials during the transition period between the Old and New Stone Age in North China. Wang Fagang said that a rare "heat-treated stone" kiln was discovered on the ancient human activity surface exposed at the bottom of Site 5. It is an oval shaped kiln with a length and diameter of about 1 meter, surrounded by several gravel blocks. The stone circle contains ash, red clay, and other materials, and is surrounded by heat-treated stone products, stone waste pieces, and fragments. It is speculated that the site changed the properties of volcanic breccia through heating, allowing it to press and peel off fine stone leaves. This is the first discovery of such relics in the Paleolithic era in East Asia, providing physical evidence for the study of ancient human methods of 'heat treating stone materials' Paleolithic archaeologist and researcher at Hebei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Xie Fei, stated. More than 100 pieces of ostrich egg skin bead decorations were also discovered at the site, including ground bead decorations, pendants, etc., making it the site with the largest number of decorations found in Chinese Paleolithic sites. This provides important information for exploring the production process of decorations, the complexity and modernity of ancient human behavior, and more. (New Society)