Loading...

Table of Content

    15 September 2010, Volume 29 Issue 03
    Previous Issue    Next Issue
    A report on the 2008 test excavation at the Sankeshu Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin
    HOU Ya-mei; LIU Yang; LI Ying-hua; LIU Hui
    2010, 29(03):  227-241. 
    Asbtract ( 177 )   PDF (1168KB) ( 98 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Sankeshu Paleolithic site was discovered in the northeast area of Donggutuo village, Yangyuan County, Hebei Province. From a test excavation in autumn of 2008, 251 stone artifacts and some fragmentary bones and teeth were unearthed in four cultural layers. The artifacts included: cores, flakes, tools, chunks and debris, with tools represented by scrapers, points, endscrapers, notches, denticulates, burins, awls and borers. Endscrapers and notches were common in layers 4 and 5. Six “DGT cores”were found in layers 4-6. Most of stone artifacts were small and middle sized. Raw material was mainly quartzose sandstone, quartz, chert, dolomite and basalt, which were common in local bedrock and cobbles. Like the Hougou site, the Sankeshu site is also located in the upper part of the Nihewan Beds and thus belongs to a rarely found late period site in this area. This site is situated just below the Hougou site and above the Maliang site, and therefore the age of the site should be later than the former but earlier than the latter. Considering the cultural features, materials from this site can reasonably belong to the middle or late period of the Middle Pleistocene. The discovery of “DGT cores ” here strengthens the significance of this site for discussing tradition of small tool industry including microlithic culture in north China.
    A study of microlithic technology from the Huiheshuiba site,Hulun Boir Savanna Region in Inner Mongolia
    LIU Jing-zhi
    2010, 29(03):  242-252. 
    Asbtract ( 173 )   PDF (1391KB) ( 58 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Huiheshuiba microlithic site is 33 km to the south of Hulun Boir City on the second terrace of the right bank of the Huihe River. In 2003 and 2004 survey and excavation, archaeologists unearthed a number of cultural remains including pottery fragments, animal bones and stone artifacts. Five different functional areas of the Neolithic Age cultural layers at the site were identified, including one living site, two fireplaces, and one pit filled with animal bones and a grave.
    Using the southern profile of pit T1 as an example, this pit is located in the northeastern area of the site with its well-preserved deposit 258 cm in thickness and with a cultural layer of 140 cm deep. The stratum can be divided into 7 layers: Layers 1-4 consists of different coloured gray fine sands, 109-140 cm thick; Layer 5 has gray and black fine sands 21-28 cm thick, including Qidan cultural relics of the Liao Dynasty; Layer 6 has dust-coloured powder and fine sands 10-12 cm thick, with earlier cultural relics; and Layer 7 consists of brown-gray power and fine sands 42-78 cm thick with cultural relics of Neolithic Age. The site was dated to 7750 ± 40 BP maximally using AMS of animal bones from the base of the living site (dates provided by the C14 Laboratory of Peking University).
    Most of the stone artifacts are diverse and include a number of fine microliths including microlithic cores, microblades and microlithic tools such as delicate arrowheads, scrapers, borers, knifes and carves made on microblades. Round-head scrapers are outstanding among these fine implements. By analyzing raw materials and the formal types and technology of these microliths, we can assess the manufacturing process of these tools, from preparing the cores by peeling off microblades and to repairing these tools with pressure technology. The stone industry at the Huiheshuiba site is different from other sites in the Hulun Boir savanna region, but is similar to some sites in Siberia, Russia, and the People's Republic of Mongolia. Thus, there are still questions to address regarding ancient people's migratory and cultural exchanges.
    Morphological features of the dentition of "Donghulin Man 4"
    XUE Jin-zhuang; HAO Shou-gang
    2010, 29(03):  253-263. 
    Asbtract ( 329 )   PDF (1511KB) ( 92 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Donghulin site, located near the village of Donghulin, Zhaitang, Mentougou District of Beijing, is an important site of early Neolithic age. The present study describes twenty- one maxillary and mandibular teeth of “Donghulin Man 4” (14 C age about 8540 BP, c. 7500 cal BC. ). Most of the teeth have been heavily worn, implying that the diet of the Donghulin people, as hunter-gatherers, is mainly composed of tough and fibrous foods (e. g., seeds of Celtis L. ). The maxillary third molar is reduced, while the X-ray observations conclusively demonstrated that the mandibular third molar is impacted. Dental caries are present in four teeth, and in particular, caries in the left maxillary first and second molars have destroyed the whole layer of dentin; the development of such heavy dental caries implies that the Donghulin people probably have a dietary preference to take in carbohydrate-rich foods with a high frequency.
    Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of the human bones from the Liyudun Site, Zhanjiang, Guangdong: a preliminary exploration of the Neolithic human lifestyle in South China
    HU Yao-wu; LI Fa-jun; WANG Chang-sui; Michael P.Richards
    2010, 29(03):  264-269. 
    Asbtract ( 161 )   PDF (212KB) ( 88 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Compared with that in Yangtze River Valley and Yellow River Valley, human lifestyle in South China has been little known. In this paper, An analysis of the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope of the human bones from the Liyudun site, Zhanjiang, Guangdong, indicates that the humans mainly lived on marine resources, and that the terrestrial resources, including the possible tuber agriculture and animals, only played a minor role in human diets. Through comparising with the stable isotopic data from those almost contemporary sites located in Yellow River Valley and Yangtze River Valley, there exists three categories of human lifestyle before 6000 years in South China.
    Paleodietary studies using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes from human bone: an example from the Miaozigou site, Qahar Youyi Qianqi,Inner Mongolia
    ZHANG Quan-chao; Jacqueline T.ENG; WEI Jian; ZHU Hong
    2010, 29(03):  270-275. 
    Asbtract ( 240 )   PDF (162KB) ( 70 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The Miaozigou site a very important Neolithic cultural site is located on the southern hillside of Miaozigou village, Uraharura township, Qahar Youyi Qianqi, Inner Mongolia. In this study, we examine Miaozigou human paleodiet using stable isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen in bone collagen. Nitrogen isotopic ratios show that the ancient inhabitants of Miaozigou ate both animal and plant products. Carbon isotope ratios show that most plant products came from C4 plants. It is significant to note that the economy of the Miaozigou site is mainly agriculture with a considerable component of hunting and animal breeding.
    Fluctuating asymmetry of dermatoglyphics in individuals with congenital heart disease
    DANG Jie; LI Xia; HUO Zheng-hao; ZHONG Hui-jun; ZHU Yong-sheng; PENG Liang; JIAO Hai-yan; LU Hong
    2010, 29(03):  276-281. 
    Asbtract ( 204 )   PDF (182KB) ( 69 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    The purpose of this paper is to analyze the fluctuating asymmetry (FA) of the dermatoglyphic count in individuals with congenital heart disease (CHD) from Ningxia, China. Fluctuating asymmetry refers to small random deviations from perfect symmetry in bilaterally paired structure, and is the result of interactions between developmental disturbance and developmental stability. Fluctuating asymmetry has a low heritability, and can be a measure of individual quality but also an indicator of developmental stability. Computing FA was done using the absolute differences between bilateral measurements ( calculated as FA = | R - L | ) , and in order to avoid count and measure error, we choose the equation, FA ij = 100 ×| (XiR - XiL ) /0. 5 ×(XiR - XiL)-1/n×[(XiR - XiL)/0.5×(XiR - XiL)].A random sample of 129 CHDs(59 males and 70 females) was compared to 133 healthy controls (69 male and 64 female), with a study of 13 FA counts between them. The results were as follows: 1. There was no significant difference between two sexes in both CHDs and controls in all 13 FA counts; 2. There was a significant difference in FA VI and FA VII between two groups, and that CHD patients had significantly higher FA rates. These results may indicate that during the course of fetal development, the CHD fetus is much more senstive to a variety of external environmental factors and thus，has higher developmental instability.
    Sense of fairness in nonhuman primates
    ZHU Yi; ZHANG Da-jun
    2010, 29(03):  282-292. 
    Asbtract ( 150 )   PDF (590KB) ( 66 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Nonhuman primates behave fairly in both captive and natural settings, indicating that they, like humans, seem to have sense of fairness. By analyzing current literature concerning non-human primate grooming behavior, we conclude that non-human primate behavior is consistent with cost-benefit symmetry, which is the essence of inequity aversion. Recent experimental studies indicate that non-human primates are not only concerned about their own cost-benefit symmetry, but also compare themselves with their partners. Some researchers infer from results of their experiments that the expectation hypothesis or frustration effect can account for nonhuman primate behavior. The present article analyzes living experiments and points out that the reason why these experiments yield inconsistent results is that many researchers have not taken into account the “effort” which exerts great influence on subjects’behaviors. We summarize the discussion and put forward three potential directions for future research.
    Late Pleistocene cave deposits and carnivores from the Mashandong site, Chaoyang Municipality, Liaoning Province
    FU Ren-yi; FENG Xing-wu; ZHANG Shuang-quan; LIU Xiao-qing
    2010, 29(03):  293-302. 
    Asbtract ( 190 )   PDF (1400KB) ( 95 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Late Pleistocene cave deposits from the Mashandong site, Chaoyang Municipality, Liaoning Province, are systematically described. The deposits can be divided into four layers: the upper two are composed of fine grains of sandy clay, whereas the lower two layers are breccias of rough and angulated large stones. The identified carnivore taxa unearthed in 2007 include: Nyctereutes procyonoides, Vulpes vulpes, Meles meles, Mustela sibirica, Felis chinensis, and ? Panthera tigris. They are morphologically very similar to their extant representatives except for ? Panthera tigris, which is similar to both extant tigers and lions.
    Murid rodents from the Homo sapiens cave of Mulan Mountain, Chongzuo, Guangxi, South China
    WANG Yuan; JIN Chang-zhu; ZHANG Ying-qi; QIN Da-gong
    2010, 29(03):  303-316. 
    Asbtract ( 194 )   PDF (1215KB) ( 102 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Recently, an incomplete mandible of anatomically modern Homo sapiens associated with abundant mammalian fossils has been recovered from the Homo sapiens Cave of Mulan Mountain, Chongzuo, Guangxi. In this study we describe the murid rodents of this site, which include 8 genera and 11 species: Mus pahari, Apodemus draco, Apodemus agrarius, Hapalomys cf. H. delacouri, Chiropodomys gliroides, Niviventer confucianus, Niviventer fulvescens, Leopoldamys edwardsi, Bandicota indica, Rattus norvegicus and Rattus losea. The murid species from the Homo sapiens Cave, all of which are still extant, are morphologically more advanced than those from the Early Pleistocene Sanhe Cave, Chongzuo and the Middle Pleistocene Geleshanian fauna found in the Sichuan-Guizhou area, but resemble those from the Late Pleistocene Wuyun Cave of Tiandong, Guangxi. The geological age of the Homo sapiens Cave fauna is estimated to be early Late Pleistocene based on this biostratigraphic correlation. U-series dating of the strata containing the human fossils gives an age of approximately 110ka BP. The murid assemblage is mainly made up of tropical-subtropical elements within the Oriental realm. Both shrub-dwelling and grass-dwelling murid species are comparatively abundant, indicating that the forest was shrinking while the shrub and grassland were expanding at the time the fossils were deposited. This evidence was probably the result of a comparatively dry climate.
    The exploitation of acorn and rice in early Holocene lower Yangzi River, China
    LIU Li; Judith Field; Alison Weisskopf; John Webb; JIANG Le-ping; WANG Hai-ming; CHEN Xing-can
    2010, 29(03):  317-336. 
    Asbtract ( 262 )   PDF (1970KB) ( 145 )  
    Related Articles | Metrics
    Recent excavations at Shangshan and Xiaohuangshan (11, 400-8000 cal BP) in Zhejiang Province have revealed the earliest evidence for the emergence of sedentary villages in the Lower Yangzi River region. Both sites yielded abundant grinding stones but few organic remains. A pilot study of seven stone tools was undertaken to determine the potential of these artefacts for studies of subsistence economy and tool function by analysing starch, phytolith and mineral residues. Starch grains consistent with acorns, tubers, Job’s tears and possibly water caltrop were found, but rice was absent. Phytolith densities for rice leaves and stems were high, but low for rice husks. Mineral studies indicate that the residues derived from tool use and the adjacent soil matrix. The results suggest that these grinding stones were used to process starch- rich plants for food and probably fibre additives for making pottery vessels. It is proposed that the intensive exploitation of plants rich in starch and suitable for long term storage, particularly acorns, characterised gathering strategies in the subsistence economy of the early Holocene in the Lower Yangzi River. This study shows the great potential of starch and phytolith analyses in reconstruction of ancient lifeways. More research on the residue materials from these sites will help us to better understand the transition to sedentary Neolithic farming villages in this region.
Announcement More>>
Commentary More>>
Wechat
Links More>>