Marine isotope stage 3 (MIS3), which extends from 60 to 25 ka, is key period characterized by a succession of contrasting climatic phases. It is also a critical time for modern human evolution, which witnessed the widespread dispersal of Homo sapiens and the extinction of archaic populations, such as the Denisovans and the Neanderthals. In recent years, increased attention has been paid to Homo sapiens and the Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) which may be a sign of human dispersals across Eurasia in MIS3. However, a comprehensive understanding of the peopling of the eastern end of Eurasia and the behavioral adaptations of populations during MIS3 is still vague. North China, across the vast area extending from the Gobi Desert to the Pacific Rim, is potentially an important corridor of population movements and cultural exchanges. With the arrival of the IUP in Eastern Asia in MIS3, it remains unclear whether local populations adopted this technology or if it represents a replacement of indigenous cultures and populations of North China.

Here, we examine the archaeological record together with the published hominin fossils and genetic data of North China in MIS3 and subdivide it into three successive stages: Stage I (60–45 ka) shows very limited Mousterian cultural remains recovered in marginal regions, indicating the sporadic presence of external populations; and, the core area of northern China remains occupied by populations skillful in making core-flake tools; Stage II (45–35 ka), the appearance of the IUP is a sign of the dispersal of Homo sapiens from western Eurasia to North China; a rapid “cultural creolization” occurred, resulting in mosaic technological innovations and cultural diversification; Stage III (35–25 ka) is illustrated by the disappearance of the IUP tradition, and the increase in the number of advanced backed tools, ornaments, pigments, and bone objects; and towards the end of this stage, the microblade technique appeared. The significant shifts in the archaeological record, marked by the three stages, corresponds with key hominin fossils and genetic data in MIS3. Separate Asian and European populations existed by at least 40 ka as represented by an individual found in Tianyuan Cave outside Beijing. From this point onwards, Tianyuan-related ancestry was widespread in northern East Asia before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM).

Behavioral and population shifts in MIS3 may be responses to ecosystem changes across North China during MIS3. At the early stage of MIS3, the unusually warm and humid climate led to the occurrence of high lake stands over wide areas of western China, especially in the arid area to the north. Expansion of surface water may have provided for the dispersal across the Gobi region. In the later stages of MIS3, increasing fluctuations of dry and cold climate led to the shrinking of the lake surfaces, resulting in a disconnected corridor. Populations that arrived in the core area of northern China were separated, and formed a relatively stable group in geneticsand culture around 40,000 years ago until the end of MIS3, when new changes happened including the rise of the microblade technique.

The aim of this paper was to discuss the human history and behavioral adaptations in North China during MIS3. Our analyses indicate that we should expect to find a mosaic of innovation patterns, with the spread of earlier innovations, the persistence of local traditions and the local invention of new practices all taking place.