西方动物考古学家发现，在更新世末期部分地区古人类对当地的肉食资源进行了强化利用，并推测这可能是人口暴增造成的。水洞沟遗址第2、7和12地点的年代跨度从MIS3阶段中、晚期到更新世末期，出土了大量动物骨骼，而且第12地点无论在年代还是文化组合上均与已被证明发生了肉食资源强化利用的西亚Natufian中石器文化相似。因此，对水洞沟第2、7和12地点出土的碎骨进行系统的动物考古学对比研究，能够在一定程度上复原该地区史前居民的肉食食谱、猎食行为及其变化，将研究数据与欧洲、非洲以及西亚同时代遗址的动物考古学数据进行对比，进而可以探讨更新世末期在水洞沟遗址是否发生了肉食资源强化利用的现象。

It is discerned by the zooarchaeologists that hominids might exploit the animal resources intensely in terminal Pleistocene in certain part of the world, which probably was due to the population explosion. Is there evidence for animal resource intensification in the faunal remains from sites of terminal Pleistocene in North China? Faunal assemblages yielded from Shuidonggou site, are selected to be studied here, because the site includes three localities (Loc.2, Loc.7 and Loc.12) and the geological age extended from MIS3 to terminal Pleistocene. Furthermore, of the three localities, Shuidonggou loc.12 is very similar, either in age or in cultural assemblage, to the Natufian Epi-paleolithic sites from west Asia, where the animal resource intensification has been proved to be happening. A detailed zooarchaeological analysis of the archaeofaunal assemblages from Shuidonggou site will be conducted to investigate the changes on human meat-diet breadth, the game use and foraging. Thereafter, the data will be compared to those from the other regions in the world, such as Europe, Africa and west Asia, which will afford opportunity to answer the question of whether there happened the animal resource intensification in North China.