Chinese stone tools introduced in Japan 20,000 years ago
August 4th, 2011 - 10:39 am ICT by IANSBeijing, Aug 4 (IANS) Archaeologists from China and Japan have said that a technique used to make stone tools in China, which later made its way to Japan, might have been the earliest exchange between the two civilisations about 20,000 years ago.
The discovery can throw new light on early migration and cultural exchanges between the Chinese mainland, South Korea and Japan, Xinhua reported.
A joint research conducted by the Henan provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and Japan’s Nara Research Institute for Cultural Property found considerable similarities in stone tools unearthed in China, South Korea and Japan, suggesting a trans-regional spread of the technique used to create them.
According to Li Zhanyang, a researcher from the Henan provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, the technique, used in north China between 20,000 and 25,000 years ago, might have spread to Japan’s Kyushu island through the Korean peninsula, as the same technique was used in that region as well.
“The two places, now separated by an ocean, were linked by land 20,000 years ago, when the sea level was much lower,” said Li. “This made the spread of the technique possible.”
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Tags: archaeologists, archaeology, beijing, chinese mainland, chinese stone, civilisations, cultural exchanges, cultural relics, early migration, korean peninsula, kyushu, kyushu island, nara research, north china, provincial institute, researcher, sea level, south korea, stone tools, xinhua