Earliest centripetal flaking system in eastern Eurasia reveals human behavioral complexity in late Middle Pleistocene China

Eastern Asia has long been viewed as exhibiting biocultural stasis and technological conservatism during the late Middle Pleistocene (ca. 300–120 ka BP). However, recent fossil, genetic, and archaeological findings reveal a more complex evolutionary and behavioral landscape. This study further challenges this narrative by examining lithic technology at Lingjing (ca. 146–90 ka BP), northern China, a critical site for understanding human evolution in eastern Asia. Integrating three-dimensional morphometrics with the logical analytical system, we investigate discoid core reduction at the site, reconstructing volumetric exploitation, raw material management, and technical design. New ²³⁰Th dates are presented that place Lingjing's initial occupation 20,000 years older than previously estimated. Our study demonstrates the earliest use of sophisticated, systematic centripetal flaking systems in eastern Asia. Hierarchical cores exhibit advanced predetermination, standardized reduction sequence, and sustained platform and surface maintenance, demanding refined cognitive planning and technical skill. Coupled with formal tool production, curated lithic provisioning, and bone tool manufacture, they suggest intentionality beyond strategic opportunism. Such technological complexity coincides with archaic human fossils displaying morphological mosaicism, linking technological sophistication to human evolution or hybridization in eastern Asia. A comparative analysis across 100 Chinese Paleolithic sites indicates discoid technology became a strategic adaptation to late Middle Pleistocene ecological and demographic shifts.