Riding the wind of rebirth

Chapter 1455 The Transparent Professor

"In addition to Area A, we also have Area B and Area C." Professor Li pointed out to everyone enthusiastically: "There, four meters south of Area A, is Area B. We have determined a two-meter by two-meter area there. There are thirty-one expanses, one per meter by two meters. From here, we will clean up to the top of the Jurassic sandstone.”

"Judging from the current sniffing work, the cultural layer in Area B is the deepest. The stone products are basically from undisturbed primary strata. The stone products are completely preserved and mainly include four types: stone cores, stone flakes, stone tools and broken blocks. "

"If the density of stone tools in Area A is the highest, then the stone tools in Area B are of the highest quality, have the most complete strata, and are of the greatest research value. The work in Area B has just begun, and about two hundred pieces have been unearthed."

"The remaining area farther away is Area C?" Zhou Zhi asked, pointing to another area where lines were being drawn with lime.

"Yes, Area C is located about 40 meters northeast. The cultural relics are buried very shallowly, under a 0.8 to 1.8 meter thick clayey silt layer with sand, and underneath it is Jurassic red. Sandstone Erosion Surface.”

"Because the strata in Area C have been disturbed and belong to secondary accumulation, we will roughly divide the excavation work into two layers. It is estimated that there will be fewer unearthed artifacts there."

"What is secondary accumulation?" Zhou Zhi is a person who will ask questions when he has questions. He never pretends to understand, nor does he let go of every knowledge point that interests him because of his thin skin.

"Oh." This brings us to the field that Professor Li is good at: "The secondary accumulation referred to in archeology, also called secondary accumulation, refers to the formation of strata containing cultural relics through natural forces such as water flow, wind, landslides, and collapse. The transportation and the accumulation formed again.”

"Just like the area B we just talked about, it is the original accumulation. But if a flash flood washes it to another place, it means that the original accumulation is disturbed by natural forces and re-forms abnormal stratigraphic layers elsewhere. Pressure relationship, this kind of disrupted accumulation layer formed by natural forces is called secondary accumulation layer.”

"So that's it, then the density of stone tools in Area C should be even less." Zhou Zhi understood.

"Yes, although the area is the largest, our focus should still be on the AB two districts first."

"Can the Paleolithic here be connected with the civilization in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River?" Zhou Zhi asked again.

Professor Li smiled: "It seems that this classmate has done his homework."

"No, I'm just asking casually," Zhou Zhi quickly waved his hand: "I'm just a little curious. I don't seem to have heard much about the Paleolithic culture discovered in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Is it possible that the ancients were traveling along the Yangtze River? During the migration process downstream, there was a gradual transition from the Paleolithic Age to the New Age.”

"Your idea is very interesting." Professor Li pointed at Zhou Zhi: "But archeology is a science and cannot be as wild as literature."

"In the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the 'Nanjing Man', 'Chaoxian Man' and Xian Man' who lived about 300,000 to 100,000 years ago have been found. These ancient humans mainly used small gravel stone tools, which are the 'main stone tools of the south' industrial system', which is obviously different from the north. "

"Since the late Pleistocene, stone tools from sites such as Qianshan Penngling in Anhui and Sanshan Island in Suzhou have used flint and agate as the main raw materials, which reflects the characteristics of the typical flake stone tool industry."

"Generally speaking, there are differences in Paleolithic culture within the lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but they are basically reflected in the development trend of the gravel stone tool industry as the main body in the early stage, followed by the rise of the flake stone tool industry. Moreover, at the end of the late Pleistocene, the rice phytolith industry The emergence of pottery and pottery became an important prelude to the advent of the Neolithic Age." "Professor Li, what are phytoliths?"

"Oh, phytolith is the abbreviation of plant silicate. Because phytolith is corrosion-resistant and high-temperature resistant, it can be preserved in rocks and soil for a long time. Therefore, after the plant dies or withers, it will remain there for a long time. In strata and ash layers where it is difficult to preserve pollen and other biological fossils, phytoliths can be returned to the soil layer and preserved well. "

"Generally, as long as the soil has grown in a certain plant, the corresponding phytoliths of this plant will be preserved. By analyzing the silicic acid combination of the soil, we can determine what plants have grown here and find out how the ancients planted crops. Location; the silicates analyzed from the ashes of the ancient living sites can determine what plants the ancients used as fuel.”

"Absolute!" Zhou Zhi was beaming when he heard this: "It can still be like this! The discovery of Oryza phytoliths means that the ancients planted rice, used rice straw as fuel, and used rice husks and mud to plaster walls!"

"Absolutely correct!" Professor Li gave Zhou Zhi a thumbs up: "It seems that this student has spent a lot of time in the countryside. He can tell you the last one!"

Everyone laughed and joked that Wei Fei had really lived in the countryside, but they couldn't necessarily tell. It depends on the person.

"But from the current point of view, as you said, there is indeed a missing link between the late Paleolithic and the early Neolithic in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Only the Xianren Cave and Diaotonghuan sites in the Dayuan Basin in Wannian County have been found. Stone tools, pottery, and individual ground stone tools coexist, but the scale is extremely small and does not reach the scale of 'culture.'

"The Paleolithic tools we found here in Gaojia Town are all gravel tools. The hammering method and anvil method are used to break pieces. The main type of artifacts is chopping tools, accompanied by other types such as scrapers and pointed tools. ”

"These all have the distinctive characteristics of the Paleolithic culture in southwest China and even Southeast Asia. They are the earliest representatives of the Paleolithic culture discovered in the Three Gorges area so far. But unfortunately, they cannot make up for the link that Jiuzi just mentioned. "Professor Li's tone was very relaxed: "It is difficult to establish even a direct relationship with the Wushan Daxi culture hundreds of kilometers away."

"Professor Li, you said you were sorry, but actually you didn't mean any regrets at all?" Everyone became familiar with each other, and Li Laosan also started joking with Professor Li.

"This is how our industry is, we seek truth from facts." Professor Li didn't care: "We will study whatever we find out."

"This site has filled in many gaps and provided very important research information for studying the development of early humans in the southwest, especially how humans adapted to the unique geographical environment of the Three Gorges area. It provides important information on early human activities and ancient times in the southwest. The study of Stone Age culture is of great significance. It is a major discovery in itself and is of extraordinary significance.”

"As for whether I will ever have the opportunity to see archaeological work fill in the missing link in this life, or even discover it myself..." Professor Li smiled and shook his head: "I must have thought about it, but thinking too much will delay my work. Existing jobs."

Li Laosan couldn't help but admire him and gave Professor Li a thumbs up: "Professor is really a transparent person."

(End of this chapter)