Abstract:

The Yuanmou hominin site is located at the Jinshajiang River valley, southeastern of the Yuanmou Basin, and is a key and important paleoanthropological site in China. From July 2023 to January 2024, Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology conducted a joint excavation at Guojiabaoliangzi that is located at the southeastern part of the site. In total, an area of 200 m² was excavated, including four sub-excavation areas in varied elevations. The depth of excavated stratigraphy ranges from 5 to 13 m, with a total depth of 29 m. Twenty-three fossil layers were identified, by a depth of 15.2 m. Through the systematic excavation, 12727 pieces of large mammal fossils and 112 pieces of coprolites were unearthed from the four excavation areas. There are 1070 large mammal fossils can be assigned to specific types, including four orders, 13 families, 18 genus and 19 speices, whereas all others are fragmented bones. Preliminary zooarchaeological analysis identified a few number of bone fragments that probably related to the intentional activity of hominins. The 2023 excavation provides important materials for further understanding of the stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental context of the site.

Key words: Yuanmou hominin site, fluvial-lacustrine deposits, Yuanmou fauna, Early Pleistocene, zooarchaeology