Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 1983, Vol. 2 ›› Issue (04): 15-02.

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On a fossil human calva unearthed from Huanglong county, Shaanxi province

Wang Linghong, Li Yi   

  • Online:1983-12-15 Published:1983-12-15

Abstract: The fossil human calva was collected from the south slope of Xujiafen Hill, Huanglong County, Shaanxi Province in 1975. It was preserved at the boundary of the yellow clay (up_x001F_per layer) and the red day (lower layer), Its geological age is probably Late Pleistocene.
The calva comprises parts of the frontal and parietals. It is a representative of Late Ho_x001f_mo sapiens judging from its high vault, weak brow ridge and other modern features of the supraorbital region. At the same time, when compared with the other representatives of the same type, it shows a series of primitive characteristics, such as more strongly developed sagittal crest, thicker bone-wall, less developed frontal tuberosity and more backward shifted position of bregma.
The mixture of modern and archaic features implies that the Huanglong calva represents either transitional or hybrid population, as suggested by G. Brauer (1981) after observing the frontal from Hahnofersand, West Germany. As far as the Asian Homo sapiens is concer_x001f_ned, the latter explanation is less possible because of no evidence of contemporaneous exi_x001f_stence of Late Homo sapiens (Homo sapiens sapiens) and other human subspecies in Asia.

Key words: Calva; Late Homo sapiens; Transitional population