Archaeological studies are usually based on human-made artifacts or other remains of human activities. Where no such materials are preserved, soil properties can be used to detect past human activities. Archaeologists found some conspicuous features formed in a loess-paleosol succession comprising a sequence of Luvisol Bt horizons at the Shenyang Agriculture University Paleolithic Archaeological Site. The purpose of this study was to analyze the soil properties inside these features and in the surrounding soil material, to judge whether the soil features were related to human activities or not. Particle size distribution, major element composition and rare earth element contents inside the soil features and in the surrounding material were used to test the uniformity of the material inside and around the features. Soil organic carbon content, magnetic susceptibility and available phosphorus at the soil depth where the features occurred were used as indicators of potential human influence. Results showed that the conspicuous features had the same type of loess-like parent material as the surrounding soil, and also their chemical properties did not point to any human activities. We found two genetically different types of features. One type represents an initial stage of fragipan formation, whereas the other resulted from redox processes caused by perched water. In conclusion, this study proved that the soil features were not formed by human activities but by pedogenesis. Our approach is generally applicable to similar cases and research questions.