Fact or fiction: the Middle Palaeolithic in China

E-ISSN： 1745-1744|88|342|1303-1309

ISSN： 0003-598x

Source： Antiquity, Vol.88, Iss.342, 2014-12, pp. : 1303-1309

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Abstract

The subdivision of the Chinese Palaeolithic is a controversial topic. A recent article in Antiquity (Yee 2012) critiqued Gao’s two-stage model that distinguished only an Early and a Late Palaeolithic. Yee argued that the two-stage model should be abandoned, and that a distinct Middle Palaeolithic phase can be identified. Responding to Yee, Feng Li argues that there is no solid evidence of distinctive and widespread technological changes before the Late Palaeolithic, and that it is hence premature to abandon Gao’s two-stage model at present.