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    15 December 2015, Volume 34 Issue 04
    Dental Morphological Variation and Evolutionary Implications of Homo erectus in China
    LIU Wu, XING Song, ZHANG Yinyun
    2015, 34(04):  425-441. 
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    Previous studies indicate that Chinese Homo erectus fossils have wide morphological variations, with no-agreed to cause. Some colleagues propose that hominins in China already exhibited pronounced regional morphological differences during the period of Homo erectus. However, there is other opinion arguing that there is no regular pattern for these variations. Recently, the present authors conducted research on dental morphological variations of Chinese Homo erectus using various methods. Our studies achieved some new discoveries and understanding. From this work, we propose that dental morphological variations of Chinese Homo erectus can be divided into two types. The teeth of Yuanmou, Jianshi, Yunxian Meipu, Hexian exhibit more primitive features and thus represent a primitive type. More derived features are identified in specimens from Zhoukoudian and Yiyuan showing more typical morphological patterns of Homo erectus. Some other Chinese Homo erectus teeth display mixed or intermediate variation status. It is noteworthy that the chronological ages of some Chinese Homo erectus that have primitive features are relative late and their primitive dental patterns do not fit with their expected chronological ages. The authors believe that dental morphological types of Chinese Homo erectus revealed by the present study reflect an evolutionary situation of different Chinese Homo erectus populations in Early and Middle Pleistocene. The formation of primitive dental pattern is not only related to the chronological sequence and geographical distributions of some Homo erectus groups, but also reflects isolation of some Chinese Homo erectus populations.
    On the Age of Homo erectus yuanmounensis and Related Issues
    GAO Xing
    2015, 34(04):  442-450. 
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    The discovery of two teeth of Homo erectus yuanmounensis from the Yuanmou Basin in Yunnan Province, South China, 50 years ago is an important event in the history of research on human origins and evolution in China and East Asia. The original lithological, biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic analyses placed the human fossil bearing stratum to the early Lower Pleistocene with an age of 1.7 Ma which has become the prevailing viewpoint in China since then. However, this estimate was challenged by some scholars and an age of 0.6-0.7 Ma for the teeth was suggested based on paleontological data and paleomagnetic re-analysis. Recent systematic paleomagnetic investigation on three sections at the site by Zhu et al. reconfirmed the age of 1.7Ma for the Yuanmou Man fossil, and this age is believed to be supported by the Lower Pleistocene mammalian assemblage associated with the human remains and with geological comparisons and correlations. However, the teeth were not excavated systematically from the site and detailed information on taphonomic association with the few unearthed artifacts is absent, which has obscured research and discussion on the age and cultural features of Homo erectus yuanmounensis. The age controversy is not an isolated case for Yuanmou Man as human skeletal remains from Salawusu in Inner Mongolia, Liujiang in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Maba in Guangdong Province and Longgupo in Chongqi Municipality are all found to be associated with such chronological problems. Multidisciplinary research on these materials and sites and direct AMS 14C dating on some fossils of the late Upper Pleistocene age are necessary in the future.
    A Study of Human Fossils Discovered at the Maomao Cave Site, Xingyi County, Guizhou Province
    CAO Bo, HE Letian, ZHANG Pu
    2015, 34(04):  451-460. 
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    This paper is a preliminary study of human and mammalian fossils unearthed from Maomao cave (25°10′N, 105°02′E), a rockshelter-type cave site located at the hillside of Maomao mountain, 1.5 km to the southwest of Dingxiao township, or some 25 km to the southeast of Xingyi County, Guizhou Province. The human fossils consist of four mandibles and three femoral fragments. The mandibles include a complete female jaw, an incomplete male jaw, an anterior fragment of a child’s jaw and a right fragment of a female jaw. Half of the jawbone has two mental foramens that are mainly located between P2M1. The mental foramen of another sample GM7504, however, is located at P2. These features are similar to those of other Late Pleistocene human fossils in China. Their morphological features are quite similar to those of the No.101 mandible of the “Upper Cave Man” from Zhoukoudian. Of the preserved mandibles, two possess a double mental foramen and one has only a single mental foramen. Only one of the three femoral fragments is well preserved, and of this specimen, the bone wall is very thick and the measurements are similar to those of the Ordos man and Hsiatsaowan man. The overall shape of the jawbone of GM7502 from Maomao cave is close to Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens in East Asia , especially the Upper Cave man (female) and Garden Hole man, but distinctive from Linde Mindanao people and Mengzi Red Deer cave people who shared close geographical locations. The measurements and index of the middle of thigh bones show that they more closely resemble Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens, and some features are even closer to that of human beings from Holocene site nearby. Meanwhile, the primitive nature is also prominent in forms of thick bone wall and small medullary cavity of the thigh bone. These jawbones and their teeth of Maomao cave site have the following characteristics. The chins of the human fossils are protruding, without mandibular torus; The mental spine has an evident progressive nature of tubercle shape and is protruding; The mental foramen position, jawbones and teeth show that Maomao cave human fossils closely resemble the late Pleistocene Homo sapiens but some primitive characteristics such as thick and low jawbone, short and wide sloping branch and double chin hole of large proportion. Their jawbone size and tooth crown area are basically closer to the minimum value of the variation range of Homo sapiens, and even some items are closer to the Neolithic people. Accordingly, it concludes that human fossils from Maomao cave should be classified as late Homo sapiens. This result is also confirmed by the study of stratigraphy, Paleontology and chronology. They can be named as Xingyi man. Dating result of uranium series method for the fossil deer tooth, coexisting with the human fossils in same layer, is 14500±1200 BP, which can be considered as the minimum age of the fossil horizon.
    A Preliminary Report of the Laoya Cave Late Paleolithic Site in Bijie, Guizhou Province
    GUAN Ying, CAI Huiyang, WANG Xiaomin, XU Chunhua, ZHENG Yuanwen, ZHANG Zhongwen, XING Song, GAO Xing
    2015, 34(04):  461-477. 
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    Laoya Cave (Laoya in Chinese means “crow”) is located on the Yun-Gui Plateau in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. This site presents a detailed picture of how ancient occupants survived and organized their subsistence activities during the early phases of the Late Paleolithic. The preserved deposits span a period of approximately 23,000 years in Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3. More than eight cultural components are identified at the site. AMS radiocarbon dates on animal bones and one charcoal sample indicate that the cave layer sequence represents a temporal interval between roughly 37,060 and 21,000 Cal yr BP, with another short deposition at 14065 Cal yr BP. The lower deposits supposedly represent early Late Paleolithic with anatomically modern Homo sapiens and the blade industrial period (e.g., Shuidonggou Locality 1, Ningxia; Shibazhan site, Heilongjiang; Jinsitai site, Inner Mongolia). The youngest component of the site is chronologically equivalent to the microblade industry in North China (e.g. Maanshan site, Nihewan Basin) but also contains remnant historic deposits, not discussed here. Laoya Cave was discovered in 1983 and first excavated by Chunhua Xu and Yanghui Cai in 1985. The total working area was 24 m2 at the mouth of the cave, and exposed about 1.7 m of heavily cemented Late Paleolithic deposits. A second excavation at Laoya Cave was conducted by the team of Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and Guizhou Provincial Museum in July and August 2013, and referred to a trench of 8 m2 next to the 1985 excavation area. Paleolithic cultural materials are abundant from the uppermost 1.5 m~10 cm. A small test trench was also dug in the 1985 excavation area, for pursuing deeper deposits below the anthropogenic layer. The Laoya Cave stratigraphic sequence is dominated by human activities. The primary geogenic component is clay or silty clay, typical of limestone and karstic terrains in the Yun Gui Plateau. The accumulation of clay is punctuated by wood ash lenses and dumps (or concentrations) of artifacts and animal bones. Stratigraphic distinctions are recognized largely with color or texture changes of the sediments. In the Laoya Cave, there is a chronological gap in the preserved sequence between 20,995~14,065 Cal yr BP. Pottery chips, animal bones, chipped and ground stone artifacts, and modern human bones on the surface of the current cave deposit indicate a historic and even modern anthropogenic occupation. Numerous cultural features such as small hearths (50~100cm in diameter) from earlier layers and large unlaminated ash dumps lacking charcoal or burned sediments are also identified.
    A Preliminary Report on Excavation at Shuidonggou Locality 8 in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, North China
    WANG Chunxue, FENG Xingwu, WANG Huimin, PEI Shuwen, CHEN Fuyou, ZHANG Xiaoling, GUAN Ying, GAO Xing
    2015, 34(04):  478-491. 
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    Shuidonggou Locality 8, one of the Shuidonggou site clusters found in 2003, is located on the right side of a tributary (Biangou River) of Yellow River. Its geographical position is 38°17′29″ N, 106°31′3″ E and lies at an altitude of 1200m. A joint archaeological team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and the Ningxia Provincial Institute of Archaeology conducted a series of excavations in 2003. The excavated area of 16 m2 was exposed and three archaeological layers (more than 3.5m in thickness) were identified. The strata are described as follows: Layer 1: Yellowish and grayish silt. 0.15m in thickness; Layer 2: Light yellowish silt, planar bedding, blocky structure, calcareous cement with some nodules and charcoal, firm. Contains Upper Paleolithic stone artifacts, animal fossils and ostrich eggshell beads. 0.4-0.5m in thickness; Layer 3: Light fine sand, planar bedding, blocky structure. 2.75-2.85m in thickness, not to the bottom. A total of 801 artifacts were collected from the site, mostly from the yellowish silt stratum (Layer 2). Lithic artifacts (n=776) included flakes (n=733), cores (14), chunks (n=15), retouched tools (n=11) and small pebbles (n=3). The general characteristics of the stone assemblage are summarized as follows: Raw materials included quartz sandstone, chert, siliceous dolomite quartz and siliceous volcanic rock with quartz sandstone being the predominant material (44.2%), followed by siliceous dolomite and chert. Flakes represented 91.51% of the total assemblage with complete flakes numbering 195 and incomplete flakes numbering 86. Platform types were cortex and plain, followed by linear, scarred cutting platforms. There were eight percussion cores and six bipolar cores. Platforms of the percussion cores were mainly artificial, followed by cortex platform. Primary reduction was hard hammer percussion, followed by bipolar flaking. Other than flakes and cores, there were also chunks, scrapers (primarily single-edged), two stone hammer, an anvil, a burin and a chopper. Blanks for tool fabrication were flakes, followed by chunks. Modified tools appeared to be retouched by hammer percussion usually on the dorsal surface, followed by the ventral surface, multiple direction and alternating retouch opposite retouch. Most tools were finely retouched with types standardized. Tools were generally small. The direction of perforation on the ostrich eggshell beads was mainly from the inside surface, followed by both sides. This research provides interpretive inferences on the techno-typology of stone tools, ostrich eggshell beads manufacture and human adaptive behavior (e.g., on-site spatial use) at the Shuidonggou Locality 8. These cultural materials belong to flake tool industry (main industry) in North China, specifically Upper Palaeolithic with a 14C date of 31323±101 BP.
    Brief Review of Lithic Experimental Replication and its Application to the Knapping of Hornfels Artefacts
    YANG Shixia, HOU Yamei, Jacques PELEGRIN
    2015, 34(04):  492-502. 
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    Experimental knapping is an essential method in the study of prehistoric lithics. It not only plays a fundamental role in typological and technological studies, but also helps us understand the development of hominid cognitive capacities and transmitted knowledge. This article looks at the development of experimental knapping, and reviews its modern application. Although experimental knapping work has a long history in both Europe and North America, this method has developed in two different directions. The traditional approach has been inherited and developed in Europe, while American scholars have introduced mechanically-controlled systems into knapping experiments. In this paper, recent knapping experiments of the Dingcun industry of Shanxi Province are introduced as an example, including the design of the experiment, the process and record of its results, and the conclusion of the experiments. Hornfels is not a rock commonly used in Paleolithic China, but it has a very high proportion among raw materials used at Dingcun (94.7%). Knapping experiments can show what kind of characteristics a rock such as hornfels may have had causing it to be the site’s principal raw material. The knapping technique used in the Dingcun industry is a long-standing controversy, as large wide flakes (typical of Dingcun) were supposedly produced by the block-on-block method. By comparing experimental products and archaeological artifacts, the knapping experiment gives us two important clues about the techno-economic behaviors of the Dingcun industry. The first is the possibility of producing large flakes by using hard-hammer percussion, and will help in resolving the debate about the block-on-block (or anvil) technique.. When large flakes were first reported from Dingcun, it was believed that only the block-on-block method could produce such flakes, but now it seems that hard-hammer percussion was more likely. The second clue is to show that soft-hammer percussion was not applied in the Dingcun industry: hard-hammer percussion is the main technique in both core reduction (débitage) and in the shaping (fa?onnage) process. But there are some limitations to this method. For instance, thee lack of high-quality raw materials has been regarded as one of the main factors that influenced the development of Paleolithic stone-working techniques in China. Knapping experiments can help solve these questions. Stone knapping is a skill that is not easy to learn or conduct, and usually involves a long training period.
    A Preliminary Report on the Newly Discovered Cave Sites in Central and Southwest Guizhou
    ZHANG Xinglong, WANG Xinjin, BI Zhongrong, WU Hongmin, ZHOU Shimin, YI Kuixiang
    2015, 34(04):  503-515. 
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    In paleoanthropological and paleolithic archaeological research in China, Guizhou with its numerous cave deposits bears great significance. Newly discovered cave sites in central and southwestern Guizhou Province are reported here. All nine newly discovered cave sites were distributed in the Panjiang river system, which belongs to Zhujiang River system in south China. Stone artifacts dominate the cultural remains. From central Guizhou, lithic raw materials include chert and silicious limestone, while quartzite cobbles are the main raw material for lithic manufacturing in southwest Guizhou. Hard-hammer direct percussion was the main technique. Most of the lithic artifacts from central Guizhou are small in size, while the stone artifacts from southwest Guizhou are relatively large. Scrapers were the dominant retouched tool type, followed by choppers. Comparison among adjacent areas in Guizhou has yielded an age close to late Late Pleistocene to the start of the Holocene for the newly discovered cave sites. Among the nine cave sites, Qingshuiyuan Dadong from Huishui, Malu Dadong from Changshun, and Lubian Dadong from Anlong are worthy of further excavation.
    A Study of the Physical Characteristics of the Minnan Han
    ZHANG Xinghua, ZHENG Lianbin,YU Keli, HU Ying, CHENG Zhi, WANG Yang, XUE Hong, DENG Wei, SHI Rui
    2015, 34(04):  516-527. 
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    This study investigated 86 physical traits of 322 adult Minnan Han males in Fujian Province (149 urban males and 173 rural males) and 357 adult Minnan Han females (164 urban females and 193 rural females), calculated 24 physique indices, and compared this sample with data of China’s ethnic groups.The following results were determined. Male and female Minnan Han had a high percentage of upper eyelid eyefold and a low percentage of Mongoloid fold. Most of the opening heights of eyeslits were narrow with the external angle higher than the internal angle. Most nasal root height was of middle size and with a straight nasal profile. Most zygomatic projections were small. The nasal base was level in males but upturned in females. The alaenasi were medium sized with mostly oblique maximal diameter of nostrils and a wide breadth of the alaenasi. Lobe types were round in males and triangular in females. The upper lip skin height was medium with a higher degree of thin and middle-sized thickness of lips in males and the highest degree of thin size thickness of lips in females. Hair color was black, skin color yellow, and eye color brown.Index values of human facial types of the Minnan Han is between the North Asian and South Asian ethnic gros. Judging from index values, both male and female of Minnan Han are brachycephaly, hypsicephalic type, leptoprosopy, and leptorrhiny. Urban females are of aerocephalic type, while urban and rural males, and rural females are metriocephalic. The index value of human facial types of Minnan Han is closer to South Asian ethnic group. From body index values and indices,the Minnan Han is closer to North Asian group. Males were closer to the North Asias group, while females were closer to the South Asian group.
    Side Contour of the Human Face and its Variations in the Sala Ethnic Minorities
    LI Haijun, LI Jinsong, ZHANG Bingjie
    2015, 34(04):  528-536. 
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    This study analyzes the contour of facial profiles of the Sala ethnic group from Qinhai Province. The forehead of the Sala ethnic group has undergone small morphological variations, largely concentrated on the 7th and 8th landmarks. Areas around the nose, lips and chin are identified with relatively large variations. All of these features share affinities with the Tu ethnic group, however the two groups also differ in a number of ways. The Sala group has a much extruded and long forehead, a more intruded lips. The landmark area in forehead of the Sala group is larger and possibly suggests greater variations than in the Tu ethnic group. The cluster analysis shows that the major difference between the two Sala groups is reflected in the facial profile, which is similar to males of the Tu ethnic group. Allometric analysis indicates that the shapes of the facial profile are slightly impacted by their size. With an increase in CS (centriod size), variations of the forehead and the chin become more apparent. While the forehead becomes flatter, the chin is more intruded; as also seen in the Tu and Zang ethnic groups. In other words, those individuals with long faces tend to have flatter foreheads and less prominent chins.
    Feasibility Analysis of Using Rotary Incising Wheels with Abrasives to Engrave Jade
    DENG Feng, LUO Wugan, YANG Yimin
    2015, 34(04):  537-543. 
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    Although jade is one of the symbolic signs of Chinese traditional culture, little information is known about the carving techniques of ancient jade due to few ancient literature records or excavated tools. Research about the traditional practice of jade carving are based on modern simulation results of jade carving and tool mark analysis of carved features. Rotary incising wheels, which appeared at the latest in the Shang Dynasty, greatly improved the efficiency of carving jade. Generally, it is considered that engraving soft jade with moderate hardness (Mohs hardness 6-6.5), which is harder than the wheel materials such as bronze and iron, should use abrasives. In this paper, we suggest that an iron wheel with lower hardness than soft jade can engrave jade without using abrasives. It is not easy to use rotary incising wheels with abrasives to incise jade, and thus we should be cautious to argue that rotary incising wheels for working jade need the abrasives in ancient times. Furthermore, there existed steel with higher hardness than soft jade in ancient times, and this rotary steel wheel doesn’t require abrasives. In addition, tool marks analysis using digital microscopy showed that some special carving features existed in engraved grooves when using modern diamond saw blade, which can be evidence for identifying fake jade.
    New Observations of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia from Late Miocene Lufengpithecus lufengensis of Yunnan, South China
    WANG Cuibin, ZHAO Lingxia
    2015, 34(04):  544-552. 
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    The expression of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) has been used as a dental indicator of generalized physiological stress during dental development in living and fossil primates. Here, we present the expression of LEH in Late Miocene large-bodied hominoid fossils Lufengpithecus lufengensis from Yunnan, China. Previous studies have shown that Lufengpithecus lufengensis mandibular teeth exhibited high frequencies of LEH and the periodicity of rLEH showed a semi-annual pattern. As an extension, this present study focuses on 261 isolated permanent teeth of Lufengpithecus lufengensis to assess their LEH prevalence and periodicity of rLEH. In the prevalence analysis, 261 isolated permanent teeth were examined with 85.4 % (223 of 261) affected by LEH. For periodicity of rLEH, 12 canines are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM Hitachi S-3700) and Keyence VHX-600EOS digital microscope. The results showed that LEH defects occurred repeatedly at a range of 4.8-6.6 months (an average of 6 months) in Lufengpithecus lufengensis. Male canines exhibit more LEH than female. Based on the analysis on the palaeoenvironment and diet of Lufengpithecus lufengpithecus, while seasonal cycles can influence both disease and nutritional stress, it is likely that seasonal variation in fruiting cycles results in higher LEH incidence in Lufengpithecus lufengensis.
    Taphonomy of the Canis chihliensis Fossil Assemblage from the Shanshenmiaozui Site, Nihewan Basin
    CHEN Xi,TONG Haowen
    2015, 34(04):  553-564. 
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    For a long time, research about Nihewan Basin vertebrate fossils has focused on the evolution of major taxa and biostratigraphy; in contrast, the study of burial process and population ecology of these fossils is almost absent. Recently, scientific excavation of the Shanshenmiaozui locality provided an opportunity to undertake a taphonomy study in the Nihewan Basin. At this locality, numerous fossils have been recovered and the composition of Shanshenmiaozui (SSMZ) fauna coincides with classical Nihewan fauna belonging to the early Pleistocene. Here we present taphonomic research including statistics of skeletal elements, age profiles and biostratinomy processes of Canis chihliensis. This work shows that different skeletal elements have inconsistent preservation considering palaeoenvironmental contexts and spatial distribution of the bones. The age of these canids is estimated by two methods: tooth wear and pulp cavity measurements. Both of these approaches support an older dominant population, with a death age profile corresponding to attritional mortality. Some pathological phenomena have also been observed suggesting death by senility and disease. There is also information about the relationship of injured and weak individuals in this sample of Canis chihliensis. Based on analysis of spatial distribution, skeleton articulation, bone weathering and water modification, the accumulation of the Shanshenmiaozui canids can be classified as a type of rapid autochthonous distribution with some modification by lake indicators.