Emergence of a Blade Industry and Evolution of Late Paleolithic Technology in the Republic of Korea

Abstract

The origin and spread of behavioral modernity has been one of the most hotly debated paleoanthropological issues during the past two decades or so. Researchers have examined changes in technology, subsistence, and social organization. The Upper (Late) Paleolithic is traditionally characterized by the establishment of a blade industry. Patterns of lithic technology closely reflect settlement and subsistence systems, and any change can be explained in terms of interplay among various factors, including technological constraints, raw material availability, mobility, and extended social networks in changing environments. A recent increase in archaeological excavations and advances in chronology allow us to discuss Late Pleistocene cultural evolution in Korea in more detail. Two notable, seemingly contradictory features during the early Late Paleolithic are recognized: (1) some lithic assemblages are characterized by small flake artifacts made of local quartzite and vein quartz, and (2) other assemblages include new artifact types—blades and tanged points—manufactured with hitherto largely unused fine-grained materials. Late Paleolithic technological characteristics emerged ca. 40,000-30,000 BP, but not until the onset of the OIS 2 did formal artifacts, such as blades and blade tools, became predominant in lithic assemblages. This change is viewed as a slow, evolutionary process that eventually culminated in the Late Paleolithic transition.