自20世纪40年代魏敦瑞提出北京猿人（周口店直立人）可能存在“暴力争斗”和“同类残食”的观点之后,引发了一些学者和科普大众对北京猿人是否为“食人族”的争论。由于原始化石标本在第二次世界大战期间丢失,本文以保存下来的周口店（ZKD）直立人头骨原始模型和素描图为研究材料,对魏敦瑞提出的具有创伤和人工切割痕迹的5件标本（ZKD II、ZKD VI、ZKD X、ZKD XI和ZKD XII）进行辨析。结果显示：1）ZKD X、ZKD XI、ZKD XII这3件标本的头盖部,有7处可以确定为生前遭受非致死性撞击导致的局部创伤;2）ZKD VI头盖骨残片周边的及中央区域的断痕,为个体生前遭受致死性的暴力打击导致;3）ZKD II和ZKD VI顶骨位置疑似人工切割痕迹的沟槽实际上是动物啃咬或自然因素导致的,北京猿人“同类残食”的观点在本文研究中没有得到证实。北京猿人头骨的创伤痕迹都位于头盖部,以顶骨居多,其次为额骨,符合人群之间暴力冲突产生创伤的位置。

In the 1940s, Franz Weidenreich speculated that human activities were responsible for depressions, scars, cracks and grooves observed on exocranial surfaces of fossil skulls unearthed at the Zhoukoudian (ZKD) Locality 1. These findings prompted him to suggest that Sinanthropus pekinensis (ZKD Homo erectus) practiced cannibalism, sparking debates by scholars and science enthusiasts as to whether Sinanthropus pekinensis engaged in this activity. The human fossils found at the Zhoukoudian Locality 1 represent about 40 individual. Unfortunately, almost all of the specimens were lost during the World War II, with only written descriptions, pictures and casts of the skulls remaining. Here, five casts of ZKD H. erectus specimens (ZKD II, ZKD VI, ZKD X, ZKD XI, ZKD XII) were examined to determine whether exocranial surface marks described by Weidenreich might have been created through human agency. The results indicated: 1) Among the eight marks on ZKD X, XI and XII crania attributed to suspected cannibalistic activity, seven were confirmed to be localized wounds caused by non-fatal blows to victims’heads occurring prior to death; these marks exhibited signs of healing; 2) The depressed crack on the ZKD VI cranial fragment resulted from a severe blow to the head that lacked signs of healing; 3) Sulci and grooves reported by Weidenreich as suspected man-made cut marks on parietal bones of ZKD II and VI were actually caused by natural factors or animal gnawing activities. Ultimately, all exocranial trauma marks on ZKD H. erectus skull surfaces as reported by Weidenreich were examined, with parietal bone involvement predominating and frontal bone involvement observed to a lesser degree. Exocranial locations of these trauma marks are consistent with patterns of skull damage known to result from violent interpersonal combat. Taken together, the results of this study confirm that ZKD H. erectus crania exhibited signs of trauma that did not result from cannibalistic activities. As for the specimens used in this paper are casts, there are limitations compared with original fossils, and further verification by fossil evidence is needed in the future.