华龙洞遗址古人类生存的植被与环境背景
收稿日期: 2025-05-08
修回日期: 2025-08-04
网络出版日期: 2025-10-13
基金资助
国家自然科学基金项目(42471185);国家自然科学基金项目(T2192952)
Vegetation and environmental context of archaic human occupation at the Hualongdong site, Anhui
Received date: 2025-05-08
Revised date: 2025-08-04
Online published: 2025-10-13
华龙洞遗址作为中更新世时期古人类活动的重要遗址,为揭示东亚地区古人类演化及环境适应提供了关键证据。本文通过对2016年发掘区域角砾岩以及棕红色黏土沉积样品的孢粉分析,重建了该遗址的古植被,并探讨了华龙洞古人类生存的气候环境背景。孢粉分析结果显示古人类生存时期研究区植被是以榆属、栎属等为主的落叶阔叶林,周边分布有禾本科、蒿属、藜科等植物组成的草地。华龙洞遗址孢粉组合所指示的落叶阔叶林植被类型不同于现今的亚热带常绿植被,说明当时的气候条件较现在凉干。对比研究表明,华龙洞植被环境与南京人遗址比较相似。但相较于周口店、大荔人等遗址,其植被覆盖更为密闭,而与庙后山、许家窑遗址相比则相对开阔。
赵克良 , 白广一 , 惠家明 , 张玄 , 李小强 . 华龙洞遗址古人类生存的植被与环境背景[J]. 人类学学报, 2025 , 44(05) : 906 -916 . DOI: 10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0074
As a crucial Middle Pleistocene hominin activity site, Hualongdong (HLD) provides pivotal evidence for understanding ancient human evolution and environmental adaptation in East Asia. The site's hominin fossils and stone tools were unearthed from breccia and brownish-red clay deposits. To reconstruct the paleovegetation and better understand the paleoenvironmental context of the Hualongdong hominins, this study conducted pollen analysis on 20 sediment samples collected from these strata in the 2016 excavation area. A total of 41 pollen taxa were identified across the samples. From the breccia deposits (7 samples), 94 pollen grains were recovered, whereas 1,148 grains were counted in the 13 samples from the HLD2016 section. Uranium-series dating of stalagmites and animal teeth fossils indicates that the breccia deposits formed between 331 and 275 ka BP. Although the HLD2016 section lacks direct dating, published chronostudies suggest that the brownish-red clay was deposited during the late Middle Pleistocene, approximately 0.4~0.1 Ma. Notably, the pollen assemblages from the lower portion of the HLD2016 section (below 150 cm) closely resemble those of the breccia deposits. This similarity suggests that the sedimentary layer between 240 and 150 cm may correspond temporally to the breccia deposits.
In the breccia samples and the HLD2016 sediments below 150 cm, arboreal pollen dominates (67.7%), followed by herbaceous (31.9%) and shrub pollen (0.4%). The assemblage reflects a deciduous broad-leaved forest dominated by Ulmus and Quercus, with an understory and surrounding grasslands composed of Poaceae, Chenopodiaceae, and Artemisia. This vegetation structure is distinct from the region's current subtropical environment but similar to the warm-temperate deciduous broad-leaved forests of southern North China suggests that the climate during the Hualongdong hominin occupation was cooler and drier than today. The landscape likely consisted of a forest and grassland mosaic, offering diverse ecological resources. Comparative analysis reveals that Hualongdong's paleoenvironment shares similarities with that of the Nanjing site but exhibits denser vegetation cover than Zhoukoudian and Dali, along with intermediate openness compared to Miaohoushan and Xujiayao. These environmental features may reflect the ecological adaptation strategies of Middle Pleistocene hominins in East Asia, particularly their utilization of mixed forest-grassland ecotones. The mosaic of deciduous broad-leaved forests and open grasslands would have provided both shelter and hunting opportunities, supporting a dynamic subsistence strategy.
Key words: Dongzhi; Middle Pleistocene; pollen analysis; paleoenvironment; glacial-interglacial
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