The orientation of artifacts and faunal remains within archaeological deposits are useful for understanding past processes that led to the formation of these deposits. This is because post-depositional processes move clasts in particular ways, causing non-random patterning in clast orientation arrangements. On the other hand, when assemblages exhibit a randomly distributed bearing orientation and minimal tilt, it is commonly assumed that the remains are of a primary depositional context with limited influence from taphonomic mechanisms. Yet, this null expectation about in situ artifact orientation is seldom demonstrated empirically. In this study, we develop a GIS simulation approach to model artifact discard on real-world surfaces of distinct terrain and slope morphologies. Our findings demonstrate that an uneven ground surface relief can cause in situ discards to have a more variable plunge orientation arrangement. Using the Upper Paleolithic site of Shuidonggou Locality 2 as a case study, we show that the horizontally distributed artifact ‘layers’ at the site exhibit orientation profiles that are consistent with the simulated outcome. This finding suggests the possibility of using archaeological orientation patterning as a proxy for past ground surface relief and morphologies.

考古沉积物中的文物和动物群残留物的方向有助于理解导致这些沉积物形成的过去过程。这是因为沉积后的过程以特定的方式移动碎屑，从而导致碎屑取向排列中出现非随机图案。另一方面，当组合物表现出随机分布的轴承方向和最小的倾斜度时，通常认为这些遗骸是主要沉积环境，受胶结机制的影响有限。然而，这种对原地的空想工件取向很少凭经验证明。在这项研究中，我们开发了一种GIS仿真方法来对不同地形和坡度形态的真实表面上的伪影进行建模。我们的发现表明，不均匀的地面起伏会导致原地丢弃物的跳入方向布置更加可变。以水洞沟2号地区的旧石器时代遗址为例，我们显示了该地点的水平分布的人工“层”展现出与模拟结果一致的定向剖面。这一发现表明，可以使用考古学的方位图样来替代过去的地面起伏和形态。