Table of Content

15 September 2014, Volume 33 Issue 03

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Archaeological Evidence for Evolutionary Continuity of Pleistocene Humans in China and East Asia and Related Discussions

GAO Xing

2014, 33(03):  237-253. 

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This paper makes the argument for continuity of human evolution in China and East Asia based on Paleolithic archaeological evidence. Through observation and examination of raw material procurement strategies, stone tool manufacturing technology, lithic typology, artifact morphology, assemblage composition, and trends of regional cultural traditions, it proposed that the development of Paleolithic industries in the region occurred in one continuous line indicating that Pleistocene hominids survived and evolved continuously in the region. Through the study of the emergence of some so-called “western cultural elements” such as Levalloisian technological products, Acheulean-like assemblages, and blade tools in the Chinese Paleolithic, it is pointed out that lithic technology in the region maintained more-or-less within the Oldowan (Mode I) tradition. While some techniques typical of the west made occasional appearance in the east, they had never become the mainstream in stone tool production, not to say to replace the local way of tool fabrication, implying that gene admixture and cultural diffusion between the east and west might have occurred, but population replacement never. Stratigraphic and chronometric analyses on some key Paleolithic sites in the early and middle Upper Pleistocene, including Beiyao, Dadiwan, Xujiacheng, Wulanmulun, Zhijidong, Jingshuiwan, Huanglongdong, etc., showed that there was no evolutionary gap or interruption for East Asian humans during 100 kaBP to 40 kaBP as suggested by some Out-of-Africa advocates. At least some parts of the area was occupied by indigenous human groups. Paleoenvironmental and paleontological research also refutes the notion that the harsh climate of LGM caused the extinction of local populations. Such archaeological evidence provided strong support for the standpoint of evolutionary continuity of Pleistocene humans in China and East Asia and the Continuity with Hybridization theory. The proposition of Comprehensive Behavioral Model strengthens the argument in favor of aboriginal populations’ capability of survival and evolution to modern humans. Observations and analyses on the unique behavioral patterns and social attributes of human beings also provide useful inspirations on academic issues such as the nature of geographic isolations for different human groups and the possibility of maintenance of a single biological species of human groups living in different regions through time.

New Observations on Stone Artifacts from the Donggutuo Site

WEI Qi

2014, 33(03):  254-269. 

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The Donggutuo site, located in the eastern Sangganhe basin of northern China is one of the most extensively excavated and prolific early Paleolithic localities yet discovered in China. Since 1981, more than 10000 stone artifacts have been recovered in direct association with a large mammalian faunal assemblage. The sample of predominantly chert artifacts is comprised of 1676 cores, whole flakes, retouched and modified pieces, miscellaneous fragments, and chunks mostly discovered in 1981. Flakes dominate the assemblage as a whole. Most of the artifacts were produced by direct hard-hammer percussion followed by minor bipolar technique. The patterns of procurement and utilization strongly suggest that the makers employed relatively standardized criteria in both the selection of raw materials and production of artifacts. The majority of stone artifacts are small in size and relatively wide-thin in shape. These objects include retouched and curated points, as well as various kinds of scrapers.The overall impression of the Donggutuo assemblage is one of marked affinity to the lithic assemblages recovered from Locality 1 (Homo erectus Pekin Man site) at Zhoukoudian. Taken as a whole, the Nihewan and Zhoukoudian assemblages can most parsimoniously be interpreted as the representing a single Lower Paleolithic “culture” or industry from Northern China.

Recently Discovered Paleolithic Sites in the Bubing Basin, South China

WANG Wei

2014, 33(03):  270-284. 

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This paper is based on field investigations since 2000 in the Bubing Basin between Tiandong and Tianyang County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. The Bubing Basin is a typical small rifted dissolution basin in South China. The caves are situated in late Paleozoic limestone hills on the margins and inner parts of the basin preserving rich Quaternary deposits and mammalian faunas. Four fluvial terraces werd developed inside this basin. Stone artifacts are collected from the four terraces with ages estimated from early Middle Pleistocene to Early Holocene. These pebble-tool industries contain bifacial technology from the early Paleolithic, and small flake technology in the late Paleolithic. This study provides important evidence for Paleolithic cultural origins and evolution in South China.

Observations of Microblade Core Technologies from Level 5 of the Xuchang Man Site, Lingjing

LI Zhanyang, LI Yanan, KATO Shinji

2014, 33(03):  285-303. 

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The Lingjing Xuchang Man site, first discovered in 1965, is located in the western part of Lingjing County, Xuchang Town, Henan Province, with an overall coverage of more than 30 km2. The first season of excavation was carried out in 2005. Cultural deposits reach up to 9 meters thick and include 11 levels. microliths, early ceramics, a bird figurine, fossil animals, flaked stone artifacts, ostrich eggshells, drilled ostrich eggshell ornaments and, ochre were found in Level 5, and a human fossil cranium, dating roughly 100 kaBP, was unearthed from Level 11. Eighty-two microblade cores examined in this paper were unearthed from Level 5 during excavations from 2008 to 2013. Level 5 is an orange and fine sand layer, dating back 13500±406 BP. Raw materials for microblade cores were usually flint cobbles, flakes or pebbles. According to the shapes of blanks, a variety of microblade cores were recognized, including pyramidal cores, cylindrical cores, conical cores etc. During microblade production, a couple of rejuvenation techniques were practiced, such as retouching platforms or the top of work surfaces, renewing platforms or shifting position of platforms. By comparison, the size of the Lingjing cores is very similar with other sites in north China, and the microblade technologies of Lingjing, Dagang and Lijiagou sites (all within Henan Province) belong to the same stone industrial tradition.

New Achievements and Perspectives on Paleolithic Archaeology During the MIS3 Along the Eastern Foot of Songshan Mountain, Henan Province

WANG Youping, WANG Songzhi

2014, 33(03):  304-314. 

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In recent decade, systematic field investigation has been conducted along the eastern area of Mount Song, and more than 300 Paleolithic sites were discovered. The sites distribute in the tributary valleys, the Upper reaches of Huai River including Jialu, Yishui and Weishui branches. Some of the sites were selected for the excavation (e.g. Zhaozhuang and Huangdikou in Xinzheng, Xishi in Dengfeng and Laonainaimiao in the southwest suburbs of Zhengzhou City). The archaeological records show a great development in terms of technology and human behavior, and the change of settlement pattern during the MIS3 from 50ka BP to 20ka BP. Based on the comprehensive analysis of lithic assemblages, the technological evolution in the Upper Paleolithic of the northern part of China is indicated by the change from flake technology to blade and microblade technology.

Current Perspectives on Paleolithic Archaeology in the Upper Hanjiang River Valley, Central China

WANG Shejiang, LU Huayu

2014, 33(03):  315-328. 

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The Hanjiang (Hanshui) River flows through Shaanxi and Hubei provinces from west to east along 33° north latitude. The upper valley of the Hanjiang River is located at the southern piedmont of the Qinling Mountains, which are regarded as the geographical demarcation line between South and North China. There are karst landforms and well-preserved river terrace sequences along the river composed of fluvial sediment and upper-lying eolian loess-paleosol deposits. Since the 1970s, hominid and mammal fossils, and Paleolithic archaeological records in these areas have been greatly expanded and therefore the region is recognized as a key area for the study of human evolution and hominid behavioral adaptation during the Pleistocene. After a general review of Paleolithic sites in the upper Hanjiang River valley, we found that numerous cultural remains were buried in the loess deposits of the Hanjiang River valley and its branches. Lithic assemblage analysis indicates that there were three main Paleolithic industries prevalent in the region. The first contained stone artifacts made of local pebbles/cobbles and found in mainly open-air sites. Retouched tools comprised both heavy-duty tools made of pebbles and large flakes such as choppers, heavy-duty scrapers, hand-axes, picks, cleavers and spheroids; and small tools. The second contained lithic artifacts from some open-air sites with most cave sites having retouched small flake tools. The third contained lithic artifacts excavated from the Kengnan site having blade and retouched small flake tools. The primary flake percussion techniques were direct hard hammer and bipolar techniques. These discoveries demonstrated the potential in revealing physical and behavioral evolution of hominins and development of lithic technology in the region.

A General Review of Oldowan Technological Classification Systems

PEI Shuwen

2014, 33(03):  329-342. 

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Stone artifact classification as an important approach for Paleolithic culture is the foundation and premise for lithic technology research of early hominins. However there is no single standardized classification system that can be used for the Chinese Paleolithic. The author notes that Oldowan-like (or Mode 1) technology dominates Chinese Paleolithic stone assemblages and recognizes different classification systems based on African materials. This paper offers a general review of the prevalent lithic classification systems proposed by Mary Leakey, Glynn Isaac, and Nicholas Toth, as well as comments on the application of these artifact systems to China. It should be noted that the current review is preliminary and critiques by colleagues are encouraged to develop the contributions of this research.

A Preliminary Study of the Faunal Remains from the Shuidonggou Locality 7

ZHANG Shuangquan, PEI Shuwen, ZHANG Yue, WANG Huimin, GAO Xing

2014, 33(03):  343-354. 

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The Shuidonggou Locality 7 (SDG7), one of the newly discovered and excavated sites in the Shuidonggou Site Cluster, is c. 300 m southeast of SDG1. Preliminary OSL dating shows that hominin occupied the site most probably took place at 27 to 25 ka BP. More than 2000 of animal fossils or bone fragments were unearthed from the site during the excavation seasons of 2003~2005. However, most bones from this site are strongly fragmented and only a comparatively small proportion of the fossils can be taxonomically identified to species or genus level. Of the fossil species identified so far, wild ass (Equus hemionus), buffalo (Bubalus sp.), and gazelle (Procapra przewalskyi) are quite dominant in number. Based on its taphonomic characteristics, the faunal remains from SDG7 is proposed to be essentially preserved in a primary context to some extent and only slightly disturbed by flowing water; and the seemingly small number of cut-marked bones from SDG7, however, does not negate the dominant role played by humans in the accumulation of the faunal remains. The evenness value for the SDG7 fauna is lower relative to that for the fauna of SDG12, which is contradictory to the predicted results of the climatic cycles and may therefore indicate that human population at SDG7 is noticeably small, at least compared to that at SDG12. Adapted to the small population size at this period, humans at SDG7 exploited the large and middle-sized animals on the one hand and neglected the small-sized ones on the other.

Artiodactyla Associated with Homo sapiens from Gongjishan, Chongzuo, Guangxi, South China

DONG Wei, WANG Yuan, JIN Changzhu, QIN Dagong, XU Qinqi, ZHANG Limin

2014, 33(03):  355-368. 

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Artiodactyls from the Gongjishan site also yielding Homo sapiens at Chongzhuo in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region include: Sus xiaozhu wenzhongi subsp. nov., Sus cf. peii, Muntiacus sp., Cervus (Rusa.) cf. C. (R.) unicolor, Caprinae gen. et sp. indet., Bos (Bibos) sp. The artiodactyl assemblage indicates an age of Middle Pleistocene with no later than the early stages of the Late Pleistocene. The faunal assemblage signifies a humid and warm environment near waters with forests, shrubs and grasslands.

New Fossils of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis and Elasmotherium peii from the Nihewan Basin

TONG Haowen, WANG Fagang, ZHENG Min, CHEN Xi

2014, 33(03):  369-388. 

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Rhinoceros mandibles and femora from Daheigou and Shigou were collected from Middle and Early Pleistocene strata, respectively. The specimens were attributed to Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (=Stephanorhinus mercki) based on the following characters: constriction of the symphysis; lack of incisors; smooth enamel layer without cementum; and a long femur. The fossils of Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis herein reported represent the definite earliest record with certain provenance of this species in China. The teeth and foot bones of Elasmotherium from Shanshenmiaozui and Heitugou represent the best fossil materials ever recovered in the Nihewan Basin. In particular, tooth specimens are the first discovery in the Nihewan Basin. Based on dental morphology and dimensions, the elasmothere fossils recently discovered can be referred to the species Elasmotherium peii. The authors propose here that Elasmotherium peii is a valid species name and that all Early Pleistocene elasmothere fossils in China can be included in this species. The Quaternary elasmothere in China is quite different from those of the Caucasian region in the following aspects: thicker but less crimped enamel layer; metaconid much more developed; more elongated upper teeth; smaller M3 compared to M2; less developed metastyle; metaloph fused with ectoloph in M3; and lophs more developed in upper teeth. In addition, Chinese materials are also different from Elasmotherium sibiricum in their relatively less hypsodont teeth, thicker enamel and prominent roots. Recent biostratigraphic studies show that the Elasmotherium-bearing strata are Early Pleistocene in age. Since the Pliocene onward, the following rhinoceros taxa occurred in the Nihewan Basin: Chilotherium sp. (Pliocene), Elasmotherium peii (Early Pleistocene), Coelodonta nihowanensis (Early Pleistocene), Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis (Early to Middle Pleistocene) and Coelodonta antiquitatis (Middle to Late Pleistocene)

Melinae Fossils from the Lufengpithecus Locality, Yunnan

QI Guoqin

2014, 33(03):  389-400. 

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Some Melinae fossils from the forth layer of the section D of the Lufengpithecus locality, Lufeng, Yunnan are described in this paper. They are identified as a new genus and species of the Melinae Yunnanotherium lufengnense gen. et sp. nov. mainly based on the character of their teeth (especially M1) and mandible. The Trochotherium yuanmouese sp. nov. (only M1, so called m2 do not belong to this kind of animal) identified in “Yuanmou Hominoid Fauna” published in 1997 by Zong[3] and the M1 and m2 described in “Lufengpithecus hudienensis Site” by Qi and Dong 2006 [4] as well as the m1 from the sixth layer of the section D of the Lufengpithecus locality, Lufeng can be included in this genus. There are some similar character in tooth structure and mandible shape between Yunnanotherium and Trochotherium of Europe (for example the tooth surface is lower and flat, the cusps of the tooth is lower and number of tooth root is more). The foot of both are mollusk. But there are still some obvious differences in structure of tooth (especial in M1) and mandible shape between them. It is possible that these relate to their different living age and ecological environment.

An Examination of Eurasian Racial Characters in Modern Human Skulls from North China and Yunnan

ZHANG Yinyun, WU Xiujie, LIU Wu

2014, 33(03):  401-404. 

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To detect possible gene flow from west Eurasia, the Eurasian racial characters are examined and the Average Frequencies of Eurasian Racial Characters (AFOERC) are calculated for modern cranial samples from North China and Yunnan. The results show that: 1) Eurasian racial characters can be found in the samples from North China and from Yunnan as well; 2) The AFOERC of North China sample is not higher than that of ancient sample of Yin Dynasty, which indicates that there were not more Western genes flowed into the population of North China in the last 3000 years; 3) The AFOERC in Yunnan sample is much lower than in the sample from North China, which may be a result of gene exchange between Yunnan and local surrounding populations.