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On the whole the sequence of the Cenozoic formations in the Yangtzebasin and its provisional correlation with the Cenozoic sequence in North China,can be expressed in the following table: ON THE POSSIBILITY OF PREHISTORIC FINDS IN THE YANGTZE VALLEY (1) Generally speaking,possibilities of discovering traces of PalaeolithicMan in the Yangtze basin are rather limited,either on account of the poordevelopment of the Late Pleistocene beds,or on account of their unpromisingfacies(silt or mud). Nevertheless,methodical researches should be started in the extensivepits opened for brick industry in the lower terraces of the Yangtze,for instance,near Nanking in the Hsiasu Loam.Fig.12.An artifact collected on the ground west of Wanshien.Natural size. (2) An attractive field for the search of stony implements would bethe superficial deposits capping the 30-meter terrace developed so extensivelyalong the Yangtze.The Yuhuatai gravels,composing this terrace,contain alarge amount of siliceous pebbles remarkably fitted for the development of astony industry. (3) West of lchang,there is still a better material for stony implementsrepresented by the large pebbles of hard quartzite forming the gold-bearing gravel of the Yangtze.Most probably,if the Red Basin of Szechuan wascovered by loess,palaeolithic flakes would be common in its basal gravel.Un-fortunately,the Mesozoic ground is exposed almost everywhere,in a barrenand cultivated condition,this fact rendering researches difficult,and eventually,interpretation of finds rather difficult.Our figure 12 illustrates a retouchedflake of siliceous pebble collected along the Yangtze,some 10 kilometers westof Wanhsien(nght bank of the river).The specimen was picked up from theground,at a point a little higher than the loamy terrace 1 represented in ourfigure 11.The piece is distinctly incrusted,and differs by its shape from theNeolithic implements(mostly polished celts)commonly observed along theYangtze banks.But its pre-Neolithic age is impossible to prove. (4) As the most promising field for Palaeoanthropology still remainthe fossiliferous dissolution pits spread over the karstic plateaus of the Wanhsienarea.As observed by Granger,those pits have most been worked as naturaltraps,and never represented a dwelling place for animals.Yet the possibilityof discovering somewhere(as in Kwangsi,cf.Teilhard,...Chang,1935)anhabitated cave is not excluded. (5) A special re-investigation is necessary of the Tatsienlu area inwhich quartzite flakes associated with pot sherds have been collected in a kindof loess by Edgar and Bowles.Our own suspicion is that the Tatsionlu loessreally is Late Pleistocene,and the fragments of pottery secondary additions inthe deposits.
On the whole sequence of the Cenozoic formations in the Yangtzebasin and its provisional correlation with the Cenozoic sequence in North China, can be expressed in the following table: ON THE POSSIBILITY OF PREHISTORIC FINDS IN THE YANGTZE VALLEY (1) Generally speaking, possibilities of discovering traces of PalaeolithicMan in the Yangtze basin are rather limited, either on account of the poor development of the Late Pleistocene beds, or on account of their unpromisingfacies (silt or mud). Nevertheless, methodical researches should be started in the extensivepits opened for brick industry in the lower terraces of the Yangtze, for instance, near Nanking in the Hsiasu Loam.Fig.12.An artifact collected on the ground west of Wanshien. Natural size. (2) An attractive field for the search of stony implements would be the superficial deposits capping the 30-meter terrace developed so extensivelyalong the Yangtze.The Yuhuatai gravels, composing this terrace, contain a large amount of siliceous pebbles r emarkably fitted for the development of astony industry. (3) West of lchang, there is still a better material for stony implements represented by the large pebbles of hard quartzite forming the gold-bearing gravel of the Yangtze. Most likely, if the Red Basin of Szechuan wascovered by loess, palaeolithic flakes would be common in its basal gravel .Un-fortunately, the Mesozoic ground is exposed almost everywhere, in a barrenand cultivated condition, this fact rendering researches difficult, and eventually, interpretation ofmost rather difficult.Our figure 12 schematically a retouchedflake of siliceous pebble collected along the Yangtze, some 10 kilometers westof Wanhsien (nght bank of the river). The specimen was picked up from the ground, at a point a little higher than the loamy terrace 1 represented in ourfigure 11.The piece is distinctly incrusted, and differs by its shape from theNeolithic implements (mostly polished celts) commonly observed along the Yangtze banks.But its pre-Neolithic age is impossible to prove. (4) As the most promising field for Palaeoanthropology still remainthe fossiliferous dissolution pits spread over the karstic plateaus of the Wanhsienarea. As observed by Granger, those pits have most worked as naturaltraps, and never represented a dwelling place for animals (5) A special re-investigation is necessary of the Tatsienlu area inwhich quartzite flakes associated with pot sherds have been collected in a kind of loess by Edgar and Bowles. Our own suspicion is that the Tatsionlu loessreally is Late Pleistocene, and the fragments of pottery secondary additions inthe deposits.