Abstract:

The origin and dispersal of modern humans is a common concern in the scholarly community. Hominin fossils, ancient DNA and archaeological evidence show that origin and dispersal of modern humans are complex processes, and a simple replacement hypothesis does not work. Scholars have proposed southern and northern dispersal routes of modern humans from Africa to East Asia, and this paper mainly reviews research progress of the northern dispersal route. Available hominin fossils, dates, ancient DNA, and archaeological evidence indicate that early modern humans spread eastward across northern Asia between 50 kaBP and 40 kaBP. Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) and Upper Paleolithic evidence has been used to support these northern dispersal route(s). An overland model from Levant to northeast Asia has been proposed, while a single origin of IUP has been challenged by the fact that the IUP appeared simultaneously in Levant and Siberian Altai. In East Asia, a multi-dispersal model has been put forward, and scholars suggested that early modern humans might have dispersed through various pathways such as Hexi corridor or steppe in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia. However, there are still many gaps in these routes, whether geographically or chronologically. Systematic investigation and excavations in central Asia and northwest China is the key to solving these problems. In addition to the earlier dispersal of modern humans, studies of Upper Paleolithic technology and ancient DNA suggest that there may have been multiple dispersal events of modern humans and technologies in northern Asia, probably in both directions. Studies at Zhoukoudian Upper Cave and the Tianyuan cave have demonstrated that early modern humans, unlike groups represented by IUP, bear many similarities with western Eurasia Upper Paleolithic hominins and culture. Scholars have hypothesized that the appearance of pressure microblade in different regions in northern Asia indicates an east-to-west diffusion of this technology in the late Upper Paleolithic. In consideration of the multi-stage complexity of modern human dispersals, it is an important task to reconstruct cultural sequences of the Upper Paleolithic in northern China, which can provide a more detailed cultural or technological evolution framework for exploring northern dispersal routes. In this way, we can further reveal the survival and adaptation characteristics of early modern humans in different regions, and deeply explore the interaction between early modern humans in different regions, and their interactions with archaic hominins such as Neandertals and Denisovans.

Key words: Modern Human, Dispersal, Northern Route, Interbreeding