Abstract: The material on which this study relies was excavated from Shigu, Changge County, Henan Province by a field team sent by the Institute of Culture Relics of Henan Province from October of 1978 to December of 1980. According to the diagnosis provided by Guo Tienso and Chen Jiaxiang of the Institute of Culture Relics of Henan Province, 28 individuals were yielded from the layer of Pre-Yangshao graves, 16 from that of Yangshao graves and 3 from one of these layers.
The neolithic site at Shigu has been the sole one so far, which eontains the human skeletons of the Pre-Yangshao graves. It provides the reliable materials for studying the physical type of the Pre-Yangshao neolithie man. The statistical test of the skulls from these two layers shows that the human bones buried in Pre-Yangshao layer are homogeneous with those from the Yangshao layer at Shigu site in physical type.
The estimated ages based on the attrition of molars are about 10-15 years older than those based on the replacement of deciduous teeth by permanent ones and on the obliteration of cranial sutures and the fusion of epiphysis with diaphysis. This phenomenon is rather related to the diet; the food as we can imagine, eaten by neolithic man is much harder than that of nowadays.
About two fifths of the total members died at the age of 25-35. The oldest man died in his late 40's. Women died at the age of 18—24 are much more than men died at the same age in percentage. This may imply a very high mortality caused by abnor- mal pregnaney and parturition.
Using the formulas for estimating the eranial capacity according to the skull length, breadth and height (ba—b and po—b) , the figures calleulated are 1287. 86 ml. (male N=1) and 1305. 06 ml (female N=9) on the average.
Based on the formulas derived from long bones of lower extremity of the modern Chinese, the estimated male and female statures of Shigu. population are 167. 0 cm. and 153. 5 em. respectively.
The measurements of skulls are shown in Table 5. The female skulls are rather short, relatively high. They have moderately wide and high faces, mesognathous total facial angles, nasomalar angle of 152° in average, zygomaxillary angle of 142° in ave- rage, wide piriform aperture, low simotie indices, mesoconchy orbits, broad palates and narrow foramina magnum. The male skulls available for measuring are few. They have high vaults, flat upper faces, wide piriform apertures, mesoconchy orbits and low simotic indices.
The main nonmetrical features of the skulls from this site are as follows: the sutures simple, the supercilliary arches small and not prominent, the anterior nasal spine not prominent, the skulls sphenoidal in shape, the canine fossa shallow, the presence of palatal torus and marginal tulbercles, the angular shaped transition of lower margin of maxilla and zygomatic hones in majority, the existence of mandibular torus and the shovel shaped incisors with a few exceptions in upper lateral ones, the upper wisdom teeth mostly unerupted and some lower ones unerupted on adult skulls.
According to the analysis of the metrical and nonmetrical features, this population belonged to Mongoloids.
According to the coefficient of racial likeness, the differences shown on male skulls between Shigu and other neolithic populations in Northern China are rather small. The differences between Shigu and those of Southern China are relatively larger. The female skulls of Shigu are rather close to the Neolithic populations in both Northern and Southern China. The mandibles are close to the Neolithic series from both Northern and Southern China without the distinction of sex.

Key words: Shigu; Neolithic human skeletons; Mongoloids