Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 1992, Vol. 11 ›› Issue (03): 230-240.

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The study of human skeleton from the Bronze-Age tombs in Changyang County, Hubei Province

Zhang Zhenbiao, Wang Shancai   

  • Online:1992-09-15 Published:1992-09-15

Abstract: The human skeletons were unearthed from the Bronze-Age Tombs in Shen-Tan-Wan of Changyang County in 1989- -- -1990. The burial ground site at Shen-Tan-Wan is located approxi-mately 7 km west of the county town. The site has been radiocarbon dated from about 2200-3000 years.
The craniometric specimen consists of only 6 male skulls and 9 male post erocranial bones(adults). The samples of 16 crania and 10 mandibulars (male and female) are used in the non-metric analysis. This paper described the non-metric and metric characteristics of the crania insome details and discussed the problems concerned with the racial relationship between the Changyang group and other gorups of contemporary or various periods in the cranial features.
From the comparisons of the cranial characteristics including in non-metric and metric mea-surements, we believe that the cranial characteristic of Changyang group may form one regional pattern--the southern type, which basically represent the physical pattern of the population li-ved in the middle basin of Chang Jiang Rever in Bronze- Age. With regard lo the origin of +heinhabitants of Changyang group, we inferred that their ancestor must rise from the neolithic in-habitants lived in South China.

Key words: Human skeleton; Bronze-Age; Changyang County