Table of Content

15 March 2010, Volume 29 Issue 01

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Tooth wear and tooth use of late Pleistocene humans from Huanglong Cave in Yunxi of Hubei Province

LIU Wu; WU Xian-zhu; WU Xiu-jie; ZHOU Mi

2010, 29(01):  1-14. 

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From 2004 to 2006 three excavations in the Huanglong Cave, Yunxi County, Hubei Province unearthed seven human teeth. In the present study, the tooth wear and tooth use were observed for the seven human teeth. The result indicates that except for the normal tooth wear caused by the tooth contacts, some special tooth use marks were also identified, which include enamel damage and chipping, enamel damage on the labial surface of upper lateral incisor and interproximal grooves in the upper anterior teeth. It's worth noting that all the tooth use marks were found in the anterior teeth regardless of upper and lower teeth. Among them, enamel damage and chippings are mainly found in the regions of crown labial side of upper incisors and crown lingual side all adjacent to incisal edges. With these findings, we guess that the late Pleistocene humans living in the Huanglong Cave used their anterior teeth for gnawing, holding, peeling, or maybe used their anterior teeth as tools. The interproximal grooves in the upper anterior teeth suggest that the humans conducted tooth-picking frequently. The tooth use marks of the Huanglong Cave humans were closely related to the activities of obtaining and processing the meat or ligaments attached in the bones. The Huanglong Cave human's food compositions may contain more meats.

A preliminary study on the excavation of the Jinsitai Cave Site

WANG Xiao-kun; WEI Jian; CHEN Quan-jia; TANG Zhuo-wei; WANG Chun-xue

2010, 29(01):  15-32. 

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The Jinsitai Cave site (45°13' N, 115°22' E) is situated at Dong Wuzhumuqin County, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It was discovered in 2000 and excavated in 2000 and 2001.The deposit inside the cave consists of 8 layers. Layers 1-2 are Holocene deposits. Layers 3-8 are Pleistocene units, which can be delaminated into three cultural layers: the lower cultural layer(layers 7-8), the middle cultural layer(layers 5-6) and the upper cultural layer(layers 3-4). The materials reported in the paper all came from layers 3-8. More than 4000 stone artifacts, some bone artifacts and many vertebrate fossils were found in the deposits. Chronological data ('4C) shows that these strata date between 36-18ka BP. This site should be a living place and a spot for producing stone artifacts, occupied by human being for a long time. According to the characteristics of these artifacts, the Jinsitai Cave site can be attributed to the main industry of Paleolithic tradition in North China. Three cultural layers come down in one continuous line. The Lower cultural stratum is dominated by the Small Tool Industry. A lot of cobble tools and Levallois tools are found in the Middle cultural stratum. The Microblade Industry in Upper cultural stratum is superior to the Small Tool Industry, according to the tool types, retouched technique and selected raw materials. Two Tool Industries are developed together. This site provides new data for studying distributing range and cultural connotation of the main industry; it has important significance for discussing intercommunion of Paleolithic cultures and appearance of the Mieroblade Industry.

A report on the discovery of some Paleolithic localities on the eastern part of Nihewan Basin in 2007

PEI Shu-wen; MA Ning; LI Xiao-li

2010, 29(01):  33-43. 

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The Nihewan Basin is located in the adjacent zone between northwestern Hebei and northeastern Shanxi provinces. The northwestern margin of the Cenjiawan platform, which preserves the profiles of the Nihewan Bed in good condition, is the most densely populated area with early Paleolithic localities in the basin. During the spring and summer of 2007, the authors conducted a three-month survey in the northwestern margin of the Cenjiawan platform. Some 16 Paleolithic localities were discovered in Xujiapo-Shuicaowan, Madigou and southwestern Guanting, with 15 buried in the Nihewan Bed and 1 identified from the terrace of Huliu River. In addition, 68 lithic artifacts and 47 mammalian fossil fragments were collected from these localities. Lithic raw materials were collected from bedrock outcrops, and most artifacts were small in size. Hard hammer percussion was the flaking technique, and flakes were the predominant category among artifact classes. Scrapers were crudely modified on flakes by hard hammer percussion. It can be inferred from the characteristics of the lithic artifacts that the lithic technology exhibits close ties with the small lithic tool tradition in North China. Judging from the stratigraphic comparison among the Paleolithic localities in adjacent areas in the Cenjiawan platform, the localities in the Nihewan Bed can be attributed to the Early Pleistocene, while the Xiaoshuiliang localities that are buried in the 3rd terrace of the Huliu River may belong to the Late Pleistocene. Among the 16 localities, the Shaliang, Miaolianggou, Madigou E2 and E3 localities are worthy of further excavation. These new discoveries support the idea that the Nihewan Basin is the key region of early human dispersal, occupation in North China, which will provide valuable clues for tracing the migration and adaptation of early humans.

The Liaodong Peninsula Paleolithics of Liaoning, Northeast China

WANG Li; LIU Xiao-qing; FU Ren-yi

2010, 29(01):  44-53. 

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The history of Paleolithic archaeology can be traced back to the 1930s. Since the 1970s, the research has been very well developed. Up to now, a cultural system including the Lower Paleolithic represented by the Miaoheshan stone industry and the Jinnushan human fossils; the Middle Paleolithic represented by the stone industry from the Lower Layer of Xiaogushan; and the Upper Paleolithic represented by the stone industry and bone/antler artifacts from the Middle Layer of Xiaogushan and the Qianyang human fossils, has been established. According the Paleoecology, technology and typology, the Liaodong Peninsula Paleolithic has dose relationship with the Paleolithic of North China.

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopic analysis on human bones from the Qin tomb of Sunjianantou Site, Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province

LING Xue; CHEN Liang; TIAN Ya-qi; LI Ying; ZHAO Cong-cang; HU Yao-wu

2010, 29(01):  54-61. 

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In this research, carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in human bones dating from the Spring and Autumn periods were analyzed from the Sunjianantou site, Fengxiang, Shaanxi Province. All samples were well preserved and could be clearly used as dietary indicators. During these periods, the ancient Qin peoples' diet mainly relied on C4 plants and some meat, based on the comprehensive analysis of δ13C and δ15N values. From this analysis, we suggest that the substance strategy was a mixture of agriculture and herding. According to the comparative analysis of δ13C and δ15 N values, the human as funerary objects probably represent concubines or attendants whose diet was similar to their owners. Obviously the diet of Qin ancestors was stable from Spring and Autumn period through to the Warring States period, and any change in the proportions of C4 and value of δ15 N were related to the historical transition of the society.

A study of the physical characteristics of the modern Shui people of Libo, Qiannan in Guizhou Province

LI Fa-jun; LI Yun-xia; ZHANG Zhen-jiang

2010, 29(01):  62-72. 

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This paper reviews the physical characters of modern Shui people who live in Libo of Qiannan in Guizhou Province. Previous researches of their physical and genetic characters have shown that they have coherent characteristics and a single origin, however no scholar has put forward an opinion of the differences among the Shui peoples. The results of our work show that there are some unified physical traits shared between the Shui of Libo and Sandu, but we have also found that there are some obvious differences between these two Shui groups. The Shui of Libo show some characters that normally distribute in the Northern and Southern Groups of China at the same time. Therefore the authors believe that we can not apply the " single origin" hypothesis and the concept of " special natural adaptive of environment" to explain this phenomenon. We put forward a new hypothesis that is that "the Shui are composed by different groups that have obvious differences in physical characters. " The results also support the opinion that there is a gradation between the features of the Northern and Southern Groups of China. The Shui peoples perhaps represent this gradation.

A study of the physical anthropology of the Dong nationality in Guizhou

YANG Xiu-hai; YU Yue-sheng; OU De-deng; YAO Ming-xin; YANG Xiao-jun; LONG Si-fang; SUN Si

2010, 29(01):  73-81. 

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A survey of the somatoscopic and anthropometric traits of 526 adults (280 males and 246 females) of the Dong nationality between the ages of 20 and 55 living in Guizhou was carried out in May 2003. Twenty-eight observations and sixty-four measurements were made on this sample of parents, paternal and maternal grandparents. The results of the survey are summarized as follows:
1. The average stature of the males is 1569.64mm, and of females is 1472.81mm. The span of the arm is longer than that of the stature in both sexes. Most of the individuals belong to anthropometric categories of mesocephaly, euryproscopy for males, and brachycephaly, hypereuryproscopy for females; and mesorrhiny, wide hand, narrow shoulder, medium body type, mesatiskelic type. The stature of the Dong type in Guizhou is short. In this sample, the Dong nationality belongs to the South Asian type of the Mongoloid race.
2. A comparative analysis of the dendrogram of the Guizhou Dong nationality and 31 other minorities living in southern China shows that the physical character of the Guizhou Dong is most closely related to the Yao in Guangxi, Buyi in Guizhou, and is remotely related to those of the Yao and Tujia in Hunan, and the Miao in Taijiang County of Guizhou.

A physical investigation of the She people of Bajing Village in Fujian

ZHANG Shi

2010, 29(01):  82-87. 

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This paper is a study of the physical investigation of the She people of Bajin village in Fujian province in July and August, 2003. In a tatal of 71 adults (41 males and 30 females), 46 anthropometric criteria were examined, and the relationship of these body values compared to the local environment, and the She culture.

Genetic polymorphism of 7 Y-STR loci in the Yunnan Bai and Xinjiang Uygur peoples of China

HUANG Yan-mei; OI Ying-jie; YANG Bao-sheng; TONG Da-yue; WU Xin-yao

2010, 29(01):  88-94. 

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Using the ABI 3100 genetic analyzer, we investigated the haplotype distribution of 7 Y-STR loci among 133 unrelated Bai males in Yunnan Province and 105 unrelated Uygur males in Xinjiang. The 7 Y-STR markers include DYS456, DYS464a/b/c/d, DYS527a/b, DYS531, DYS709, DYS448 and DYS522. The results revealed 133 and 105 haplotypes of 7 Y-STR loci in these two Chinese minority populations, respectively, with each haplotype appearing only once, making the haplotype diversity almost 1 for both groups. The distribution pattern of 7 Y-STR haplotype between these two ethnic groups was found to be statistically significant(P < 0.001). These highly polymorphic loci will prove to be useful for forensic identifications and for populational genetic studies.

Genetic polymorphisms of DXS7132, DXS6854,and GATA31E08 STR loci found in a Korean ethnic group in China

ZHANG Yong-ji; XO Jing-nan; ZHANG Mei-hua; HAN Song-ying

2010, 29(01):  95-99. 

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The purpose of this research was to understand the allele structure and genetic polymorphism at DXS7132, DXS6854, and GATA31E08 short tandem repeats (STRs) loci in a Korean ethnic group found in the Jilin Yanbian area, and to construct a preliminary descriptive database. The allele frequencies of the three STRs loci in 261 unrelated individuals from this ethnic group were analyzed by multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and polyacrylamide gel eleetrophoresis (PAGE). The following 8, 6 and 10 alleles and 19, 17 and 21 genotypes were observed at the DXS7132, DXS6854 and GATA31E08 STR loci, respectively. All of these loci (in females) met the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05). Statistical analysis of the three STR loci calculated the heterozygosities at 0.706, 0.743, and 0.772; the polymorphic information contents (PIC) at 0.710, 0.730 and 0.67. The female powers of discrimination (PD) were 0.898, 0.911 and 0.857. The mals genetic diversity of the male samples were 0.766, 0.802 and 0.734, and the combined haplotype diversity was more than 0.988. All of these results show that all three of the loci in this study were found to have high heterozygosity and polymorphic information content, and thus, they could provide useful genetic markers. These results could serve as valuable data to enrich the Korean ethnic group genetic database and play an important role in application and understanding of Chinese population genetics.

A study of the physical characteristis of the Gin nationality

LIAO Yan-bo; LI Kun; ZHENG Lian-bin; LI Shu-yuan; LIANG Ming-kang; JIANG Kui; LIU Peng

2010, 29(01):  100-102. 

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The Gin ethnic group is the national minority group in southern China, mostly occupying Guangxi Province. In 2004, we conducted an investigation of physical anthropological traits of this group including three generations. In this study, there were 52 standard anthropometric and 7 somatoscopic criteria. The results of this research were analysed using PEMS 3.1 and EXCEL, and are illustrated in charts 1 and 2. According to the standards of head, face and body shape, the following traits were the most frequest: mesocephaly, hypsicephalic type, acrocephalic type, mesorrhiny, mesatiskelic type, medium chest circumference, broad breadth of shoulder and medium distance between iliac crests. The stature height index of suprasternal notch located above sitting plane is larger in males compared to females, which have a medium trunk size. A further comparison of these physical characteristics was conducted on 30 minority nationalities, with the resuhs of a cluster analysis showing that Gin ethnic group is closer to Mulao and Li ethnic groups, and similar to the Gin ethnic group living in Vietnam.