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Abstract: The Paleolithic stone tool industry from the Bose Basin (Guangxi, China) is best known for the presence of Acheulean-like bifacially and unifacially-worked handaxes found in the same horizon with tektites dated to 803,000 BP. One point that is often not included in discussion of the Bose lithics is the variability in the distribution of sites and artifacts across the basin. This paper reports the results of an analysis of the spatial distribution of the lithics and sites in the Bose Basin based on a multidisciplinary approach utilizing geomorphological observations, Geographic Information Systems, remote sensing, and computer graphics. Analyses include data collected during a comprehensive systematic archaeological field survey conducted in the basin between 2009 and 2010. The results indicate that the density of sites and stone artifacts per site decrease when moving from the northwest to the southeast. Perhaps the most interesting finding is that the handaxes are concentrated in only certain areas of the basin, a pattern similar to the typical western Old World Acheulean, rather than the Oldowan, where the artifact types appear to be more evenly distributed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Paleolithic stone artifacts, including bifacial handaxes, are extensively distributed in the Bose basin, an area of about 800 km2. Previous surveys and excavations identified about 57 Paleolithic sites in the basin. Unfortunately, the understanding of the basin-scale distribution of Paleolithic sites was still incomplete due to the lack of systematic archaeological field investigations. Thus, from 2009 to 2010, a comprehensive investigation of the distribution of Paleolithic sites across the entire basin was conducted. As a result, 56 new localities were identified, which brought the total number of Paleolithic sites in the basin to 113. These discoveries provide more integrated data on early hominin behavior during the Middle Pleistocene in the basin. In general, the site and artifact densities decline when moving from northwest to southeast along the Youjiang River inside the basin. A total of 747 stone artifacts, including 65 handaxes, were surface collected during these field surveys. Handaxes are found in higher densities in the northwest part of the basin, whereas they are rare in the southeast. Utilized raw materials also vary between the two regions within the basin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]