Table of Content

15 December 2010, Volume 29 Issue 04

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A functional study of the points from the Hutouliang site, North China

ZHANG Xiao-ling; GAO Xing; SHEN Chen; CHEN Fu-you; WANG Chun-xue

2010, 29(04):  337-354. 

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This study presents results of usewear analysis on lithic tools unearthed from Hutouliang, an Upper Paleolithic site in the Nihewan Basin, North China. The Hutouliang lithic assemblage includes predominantly finely retouched formal tools especially morphologically defined points. This study selected 52 out of 73 of these points, which are in previous typological analyses divided into 5 subtypes. Lithic use-wear analysis is used to examine microscopically edge damage and surface rounding in order to assess how these tools were employed. Stone tool use patterns revealed by usewear evidence suggests that humans living at the Hutouliang site made full use of pointed tips and edges for penetrating, scraping, and cutting, and that most of these points may have been hafted. Based on the usewear data and typological observations, we conclude that the Hutouliang people made and used specialized and curated stone tools in order to adapt to the changing climatic environment about 10000 years ago.

A preliminary report on the excavation of the Baidu site in the Bose Basin, South China

XIE Guang-mao; LIN Qiang; HUANG Xin

2010, 29(04):  355-371. 

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The Baidu site is located in the Bose Basin, Guangxi Province, south China. Because of the construction of an expressway, a rescue excavation of this site was carried out by the Guangxi Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology in autumn 2002.
This site is about 10000㎡ in size, of which 700㎡was excavated. The excavated area was divided into two parts. Three stratigraphic layers were identified with no sharp boundary between layer 1 and layer 2 (from the surface), indicating that they were of the same age. Layer 3 represented weathered basal rock. Stone artifacts were recovered from layers 1 and 2.
There were about 1500 stone artifacts unearthed from this site, with raw materials being cobbles of sandstone, quartzite, quartz and silicified rock, which were available from the basal conglomerate of the high terrace located near the site. The principal flaking technique was direct hard hammer percussion. Anvil technique was rare. Specimens with single cortical platforms and double cortical platforms were common, with no preparation of the striking platform found. Apart from one piece, all flakes were less than 10cm in length. The dorsal of surfaces of the flakes, especially the smaller ones, normally had flake scars, which were usually struck from the same direction as the flake itself. Used flakes were rare. Tools were “simply” made with most of them flaked unifacially and with cortex. Tool types included choppers, scrapers and picks, with choppers being the dominant form.
Geomorphological comparison of the stone artifacts of the Baidu site with those found at other sites in the Baise Basin indicate that the age of this site is about 300-400ka BP.

A report on the excavation of the Linchang Paleolithic site in Shirengou, Helong County

CHEN Quan-jia; ZHAO Hai-long; FANG Qi; HE Cun-ding

2010, 29(04):  373-382. 

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The Linchang Paleolithic site, buried in the second terrace of the Hongqi River, is located in the forestry center of the Shirengou village, Helong City, Jilin Province. The site excavation, which occurred in August - September 2007, exposed an area of some 69㎡. Nine stratigraphic layers of the second terrace were identified at the site, with the total thickness of about 2 meters. Stone artifacts (n =116) were unearthed, 86 from layers 3 and 4, and 30 from the surface.
The stone artifacts include cores ( n = 1 ), flakes ( n = 42 ), microblades ( n = 8 ), used flakes (n =5), chunks (n = 20), debris (n = 31) and retouched tools (n = 8). The general features of these stone artifacts are summarized as follows:
1)Obsidian is the major raw material used, constituting 97. 42% of the assemblage; a small amount of slate and tuff constituting 1. 72% and 0. 86% were utilized.
2) Most stone artifacts were small in size, followed by medium - sized.
3) Most blanks for tool fabrication were flakes (98. 62% ), followed by cores.
4) Modified tools appeared to be retouched by hard hammer percussion, followed by soft hammer percussion and pressure techniques. Tools were generally retouched on the dorsal surface.
5) Microblades accounted for 6. 91% of the stone artifacts; all were broken.
According to the characteristics of the stone artifacts, it can be inferred that this site showed close ties with the Upper Paleolithic Microblade Industry. The authors suggest that this site is probably a temporary camp for Upper Paleolithic humans.

A preliminary report on the investigation and test excavation of caves in Gaoping, Jianshi County, Hubei Province

PEI Shu-wen; GAO Xing; XU Chun-hua; YANG Nian-you; HUANG Zai-ming; MEI Hui-jie; GUAN Ying; MA Ning; YI Ming-jie

2010, 29(04):  383-394. 

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The cave site of Gaoping, Jianshi County is situated in an adjacent region of Jianshi, Badong and Wushan counties, which occupies the upper reach of Qingjiang river ( a southern branch of Changjiang river). According to Chinese geology, this area is in the northern margin of the Middle Yangtze Platform, with strata of carbonatite and detrital rock consisting of Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, and Triassic deposits. The well-developed Triassic System is mainly composed of limestone and dolomite. Tectonic movement and Cenozoic climate conditions were suitable for the development of the karst and the formation of the cave deposit. The Shanpen planation surface is well developed in this area resulting in the formation of many caves. An investigation and test excavation was conducted by staff from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Office for Cultural Relics Administration of Jianshi County between April 15 and May 11, 2008. About 16 caves were investigated by the team. It can be inferred that these Pleistocene cave deposits (Dongcao, Shenniu, Xiangshuizhai and Zuojiaxiao) were developed in bedrock between 700 and 950m, all of which could be excavated in the future. Test excavations outside of the Juyuan cave and in the Dayan cave indicate that a large number of mammalian fossils and hominid remains were probably buried, which could be studied in the near future.

Plant residue analysis method of stone artifacts in the laboratory: based on the Shuidonggou lithic materials

GUAN Ying; Deborah M.Pearsall; GAO Xing; ZHOU Zhen-yu

2010, 29(04):  395-404. 

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Residue analysis used to assess the function of archaeological objects was first developed in the 1970s. Nowadays, this technique has been applied to research around the world, including China, but, with different time periods, depositional environments, artifact types, etc. , the laboratory methods of this type of analysis are, often numerous. Based on this research, we believe that plant residues could be extracted from the Shuidonggou stone artifacts. The Shuidonggou site is a typical Upper Paleolithic site in northwestern China, a vital area for assessing ancient human migration in Eurasia. The semi-arid environment of the site is considered a good condition for the preservation of plant residues. In this study, 103 pieces of chipped stone artifacts were processed for residue analysis in the Paleoethnobotany Lab at University of Missouri- Columbia. The processing included the following steps: concentration, deflocculation, pre- treatment, removal of carbonate and organic matter, and heavy liquid flotation. Plant residues including starch grains, plant tissue fragments and phytoliths collected from the Shuidonggou artefacts suggest that ancient humans were engaged in a number of plant processing activities.

Racial types of ancient human skulls from the Saensayi cemetery, Urumchi, Xinjiang

FU Chang; RUAN Qiu-rong; HU Xing-jun; WANG Bo

2010, 29(04):  405-415. 

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This paper is a study of 26 human skulls excavated from ancient tombs in the Saensayi cemetery, Urumchi, Xinjiang, most tombs belonging to circa 700BC according to isotope carbon dating. By observing nonmetric characteristics such as sex, age and morphological freatures, these skeletal materials look European, especially some of the nasal bone features. Comparison of measurements, indices and angle measurements with that of the three major human races, the Saensayi skeletal materials shows a distinct inclination towards the northern Mongoloid type.

Size variation of the temporomandibular joint of Chinese people during the Holocene

LI Hai-jun; ZHOU Ya-wei; ZHANG Quan-chao; ZHU Hong

2010, 29(04):  416-424. 

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In order to understand the variation of Holocene Chinese temporomandibular joint morphology, this study has analyzed a number of sample groups including: Neolithic (n =54), Bronze-Iron Age ( n = 189 ) and modern ( n = 92 ) adult male skulls from northern China. The results of this work indicate that the linear characteristics of these Chinese temporomandibular joint varied throughout the past 7000 years. Condylar processes decreased in size and became thinner and flatter and the mandibular fossa depth decreased especially from the Neolithic to Bronze-Iron Age. Coronoid processes also thinned, especially from the Bronze-Iron Age to the present day. These anatomical variations may be associated with changes in environment or diet.

A study of the juvenile body surface area of the Yao nationality in Guangdong Province

HUANG Yong-jun; YU Zhi-jian; CHEN Xiu-fu; PENG Zhi-su; LI Chuan-jian

2010, 29(04):  425-430. 

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This paper investigates the growth and development in stature, weight and body surface area of juveniles belonging to the Yao nationality, and to provide an evaluation system for a health index structure. Individual body surface area and an average number of 12 age groups between 7-18 year-olds was calculated using the formula of Stevenson and Hu Yong-mei. The results of this research included the following details: juveniles of the Yao nationality showed an increased body surface area, stature and weight with age; and the increasing speed of growth for both male and female students was divided into three different categories, “steady”, “fast” and “slow”. The curve of stature, weight and body surface area shows the double-crossing phenomenon. In terms of body surface area, the results of this research calculated by Hu Yong- mei's formula were higher than those by Stevenson's (P <0. 01).

Fluctuating asymmetry in the dermatoglyphic features of coronary heart disease patients

LU Hong; HUO Zheng-hao; DANG Jie; SHI ZHi-Yun; PENG Liang; JIAO Hai-yan; ZHONG Hui-jun

2010, 29(04):  431-436. 

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The characteristics of dermatoglyphic parameters found in both hands of 256 men from the Ningxia Han nationality (control group and coronary heart disease sample of 128 each) were studied. The fluctuating asymmetry (FA) was also analyzed with the following results: 1) the mean value of FRC, TFRC and a-b RC were lower in the coronary heart disease patients compared to the control group; 2) the sample of coronary heart disease patients showed a significant difference in atd [ Feng: need to clarify “ adt ”] ( P < 0 . 0 5 ) found in both hands; 3 ) there was a significant difference in the FAII (P < 0. 01) and FAV (P < 0. 05) between the two groups with the coronary heart disease patient sample with a higher FA. There was also a significant difference in |R-L|≥7 on distribution of atd angle between two samples. [Feng: please clarify the abbreciations used in this abstract-here“| R - L | > - 7”]

Polymorphism study of the 3 MiniSTR loci of Han ethnic in the Northeast China

MA Wei; LI Yan; XU Fei

2010, 29(04):  437-444. 

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Polymorphisms of three selected miniSTR loci, D10S1248, D14S1434, and D22S1045, were investigated in 141 Han ethnic people from northeastern Chinese populations. Multiple fluorescent polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques were performed for the three loci in one tube per individual sample, with the genotypic information obtained using an ABI 310 Genetic Analyzer with capillary electrophoresis. A total of 25 alleles and 56 genotypes were detected in the 3 miniSTR loci, and their frequency distributions showed no significant deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Each of the three miniSTR loci showed high levels of heterozygosity, discrimination power, and power of exclusion. The accumulated power of discrimination and exclusion for the three loci was 0. 99876 and 0. 89819, respectively. The results of this study indicate that a high level of genetic polymorphisms can be observed in Han ethnic Chinese of Northeastern China when using the three loci selected. This research would be helpful in future population studies, and in forensic analyses.

Re-examination of the Yanjiagang Paleolithic campsite, Northeastern China

YU Hui-li; YUAN Bao-yin; HUANG Wei-wen

2010, 29(04):  445-453. 

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The Yanjiagang Paleolithic site near Harbin，the capital city of Heilongjiang Province is located on the broad fluvial plain of Songhuajiang, a main river in northeastern China. Excavation during the 1980s defined it as a campsite of Upper Paleolithic hunters, which consists of two semi-circle structures made of bone fragments from animals such as bison, woolly rhinoceros, mammoth, deer, horse, and gazelle. Some researchers, however, have argued that the circles are not artifacts but a result of natural river movement.
A re-examination of the site by the authors reports that Yanjiagang is indeed a campsite of ancient hunters. The artificial nature of the animal bone circle structures does not have any support from the re-examination. The present report corrects the radioactive dating of the site as 14 C cal BP 26957 ± 626, which can be compared with late MIS 3 and is older than the previously published result of 22370 ± 300 BP.