Late Pleistocene Human Evolution in Eastern Asia Behavioral Perspectives

A deeper understanding of the eastern Asian Late Pleistocene paleoanthropological record will contribute to some resolution of the modern human origins debate. Here, I review the current state of the Late Pleistocene behavioral record with a particular focus on the Korean and Japanese records. In addition to questioning the applicability of the three-stage (Lower/Middle/Upper) Paleolithic sequence in the region and advocating a two-stage model (Early/Late), I add a number of behaviors to the definition of the eastern Asian Late Paleolithic, traditionally defined based on the appearance of blade-tool technology. In particular, any definition of this cultural period for this region should include the appearance of tanged points, ground stone tools, trap-pit hunting, and importantly, watercraft. Tanged points and trap-pit hunting represent an expansion of the Late Paleolithic foragers' diet breadth and an increased effectiveness in hunting large game. As well, ground stone tools, which included ground axes used for felling trees and woodwork, probably contributed to the building of sturdy watercraft necessary to make oceanic voyages. Finally, I briefly discuss the arguments for and against the pre-50,000 ka occupation of eastern Asia by modern Homo sapiens with a focus on four specific sites that are proposed to support the pre-50 ka model: Huanglong Cave, Fuyan Cave, Luna Cave (all in China), and Callao (Philippines).