Abstract:

It’s been 90 years since the initial discovery of Gigantopithecus blacki, however, the hypodigm is still limited to 4 incomplete lower jaws and nearly 2000 isolated teeth recovered from 19 karst cave sites. Scientists have investigated various aspects of this giant ape including phylogeny, evolutionary trends, body mass and stature, ecology, diet, extinction, etc. based on the fossil material and the geological information of these sites. As a result, the mystery surrounding this hominid has been unveiled to the fullest possible extent. Although the current consensus takes G. blacki as a terminal member of the Sivapithecus-Indopithecus clade in Ponginae, it still needs to be tested by stronger fossil evidence such as the cranial or facial morphology. It has been inferred that G. blacki should be a ground-dwelling quadruped based on its body mass and stature. This also needs to be tested by the postcranial morphology, especially that of the limb bones. The early studies of G. blackiinvolved Peking Man in many ways. It was even considered as the direct ancestor of the human lineage by Weidenreichi. To commemorate the 95^th anniversary of the discovery of the first skullcap of Peking Man, the research history as well as the known and the unknown of G. blacki is systematically reviewed in this paper. Moreover, prospect of addressing related problems that recently emerge in the quest of G. blackiis discussed, such as the identity of the “mystery ape”, the Pliocene gap lying in the fossil record of southern China.

These issues are critical to understand the potential early Homo’s migration into China. It is worth mentioning that the academic community still considered Asia as the cradle of humankind until 1980s. It was the discovery of so many Pliocene to Early Pleistocene Australopithecus and early Homofossils in Africa since 1950s that led to the paradigm shift concerning where the hominin clade first arose. Unfortunately, the “mystery ape” from the karst region of southern China is still mysterious. We don’t know whether it should be placed on the pongine side or the hominin side of the family tree of great apes based on the current fossil evidence. And in marked contrast to the abundant late Pliocene fossils of australopiths in Africa, the Pliocene fossil record of mammals, especially that of hominids, is completely blank. Although most of the karst region in southern China has not been systematically surveyed yet, recent fieldwork in Guangxi and the Three Gorges region has shown considerable potential to address these issues. It is expected that groundbreaking discoveries can be made in southern China in the future, and therefore not only better fossil material for G. blacki and the “mystery ape” can be recovered, but also Chinese or even Asian elements can be contributed to the paradigm concerning the evolution of early Homo.

Key words: Gigantopithecus blacki, Hominidae, mystery ape, paradigm shift, Pliocene gap