人类学学报 ›› 2025, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (02): 316-332.doi: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0015cstr: 32091.14.j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0015

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湖北郧县学堂梁子古人类遗址年代学研究进展

华杰群1,2(), 葛俊逸1,2(), 陆成秋3, 沈中山2,4, 邢松1,2, 卢泽基5, 高星1,2, 邓成龙2,4   

  1. 1.中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所,中国科学院脊椎动物演化与人类起源重点实验室,北京 100044
    2.中国科学院大学地球与行星科学学院,北京 100049
    3.湖北省考古研究院,武汉 430077
    4.中国科学院地质与地球物理研究所岩石圈演化国家重点实验室,北京 100044
    5.南京师范大学地理科学学院,南京 210023
  • 收稿日期:2024-01-22 接受日期:2024-03-14 出版日期:2025-04-15 发布日期:2025-04-15
  • 通讯作者: 葛俊逸,研究员,主要研究方向为第四纪年代学。E-mail: gejunyi@ivpp.ac.cn
  • 作者简介:华杰群,硕士研究生,主要研究方向为第四纪年代学。E-mail: huajiequn@ivpp.ac.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金项目(41977380);国家自然科学基金项目(41888101);现代古生物学和地层学国家重点实验室(中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所)开放课题(133105)

Chronological studies of the Xuetangliangzi hominin fossil site in Hubei Province

HUA Jiequn1,2(), GE Junyi1,2(), LU Chengqiu3, SHEN Zhongshan2,4, XING Song1,2, LU zeji5, GAO Xing1,2, DENG Chenglong2,4   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044
    2. School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049
    3. Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Wuhan 430077
    4. State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044
    5. College of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210023
  • Received:2024-01-22 Accepted:2024-03-14 Online:2025-04-15 Published:2025-04-15

摘要:

东亚是直立人的关键生存演化区域,出土了一系列更新世直立人化石。然而,迄今我国发现的早期直立人化石稀少且保存较差,制约了对东亚直立人演化历史及其演化上的系统地位的探讨。湖北郧县学堂梁子遗址先后出土三件保存较完整的直立人头骨化石,对认识东亚直立人的演化、迁徙扩散以及环境适应具有重要意义。本文系统回顾了郧县人遗址的年代研究历史及结果,发现采样分辨率、测试精度和方法以及样品可靠性是造成年代争议的主要因素,但区域地层对比的不确定才是最关键原因。由此提出,精细地层对比,建立区域综合地层序列,开展多方法测年和交叉检验是解决郧县人化石年代问题的关键。汉江阶地发育历史及区域人类活动时限的综合对比分析可望为郧县人年代及其文化联系提供重要证据。

关键词: 郧县人, 东亚直立人, 磁性地层, 测年

Abstract:

As a key area for the occupation and dispersal of Homo erectus, a large number of Pleistocene H. erectus fossils have been discovered in East Asia. This provides specific advantages for understanding the evolution and dispersal of H. erectus on our planet. However, so far, the scarcity and poor preservation of the early H. erectus fossils ever found in China, especially the lack of completely preserved skull fossils, significantly hinder our knowledge of the evolutionary history of East Asian H. erectus and its evolutionary systematic status.

Three relatively well-preserved early H. erectus skull fossils have been unearthed from the Xuetangliangzi (Yunxian hominin) site in Hubei province. These fossils hold considerable promise for elucidating this species’ evolutionary trajectory, migratory patterns, and environmental adaptability in East Asia. Consequently, establishing an accurate chronological framework for these fossils is deemed essential.

Since these skull fossils are of great significance for understanding the evolution, dispersal, and environmental adaptations of East Asian H. erectus, establishing a precise chronological framework for these fossils seems to be vitally important.

In this study, the previous studies on the stratigraphic and geochronological dating of the Yunxian hominin site were systematically reviewed and examined to analyze the potential problematic issues. At least five levels of terraces are recognizable in the Yunxian hominin site area, and the WT section which was mostly focused on by previous studies may not correspond to the terrace on which the hominin fossils were discovered. Therefore, this discrepancy suggests that many dating efforts, particularly paleomagnetic analyses, may not reliably reflect the site’s antiquity. Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) dating of mammalian remains from the same stratum provides a minimum age estimate for the Yunxian hominin fossils. Furthermore, the incomplete characterization of the mammalian fauna associated with the site complicates faunal comparisons, thereby affecting the chronological assessment.

Based on this conclusion and integrating regional geomorphological and geochronological data, we propose that disparities in sampling resolution, experimental methodologies, analytical precision, and sample integrity may contribute to the existing controversies. However, the most significant factor undermining the chronological reliability of the Yunxian hominin site is the tenuous nature of regional stratigraphic correlations. Additionally, geochronological datings on the terraces along the Han River indicate that T4 to T1 terraces developed at approximately 55,220,780 and 1,300,000 BP, respectively. The formation of the T4 terrace, where the Yunxian hominin site is located, sets a maximum age constraint for the site. Moreover, a detailed analysis of the temporal distribution of hominin occupations in this region could yield pivotal evidence for correlating the Yunxian hominin fossil with potential cultural affiliations to Paleolithic sites along the river.

Key words: Yunxian Hominin, East Asia Homo erectus, magnetostratigraphy, dating

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