Exploration on bone handicraft industry during prehistoric period at Daxi site

The investigation of bone artifacts is crucial for unveiling the technological behaviors, resource utilization, and socio-economic aspects of ancient human societies. Southwest China is one of the regions where bone artifact culture flourished, and bone handicraft industry has continuously evolved throughout prehistoric times. Daxi site(31°0′15″N, 109°37′31″E)is the most representative Neolithic site in the Xiajiang area of Southwest China, with over a thousand pieces of bone artifacts unearthed. This article focuses on a systematic typological and technical study of 856 bone artifacts from the prehistoric period of this site. The results show that production and living tools of practical use dominate the types of bone artifacts, including daily utensils, fishing and hunting tools, primitive textile and leatherworking tools. There are also many decorative items and non-practical bone artifacts related to sacrificial ceremonies. The process for crafting these bone artifacts includes complete processing steps such as material selection, truncation and material selection, rough shape cutting, knapping and shaping, scraping and refinishing, drilling and slotting etcetera. On this basis, we also analyzed the type combination of bone tools at the Daxi site, as well as their excavation context, economic livelihoods, and social organization. We believe that the production of bone tools at the Daxi site was carried out by small workshops based on family kinship, but it had already begun to show signs of scale and specialization. The site exhibited a small yet refined composite economy with no significant social stratification. The ancestors of the site possessed their own unique spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions. The study of bone tools at the Daxi site not only allows for a deeper understanding of the distinctive cultural connotations in the Xiajiang region's resource endowment but also provides a new perspective for exploring the origin and evolution of bone handicraft industry in this area.