Table of Content

15 June 2016, Volume 35 Issue 02

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Emergence and dispersal of modern humans: The fossil evidence from China

LIU Wu, WU Xiujie, XING Song

2016, 35(02):  161-171. 

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Since the discovery of the modern human fossils dated to about 40 ka BP at the Tianyuan Cave near Zhoukoudian in 2002, early modern human fossils have been found from several other sites in China including Huanglong Cave in Yunxi, Hubei Province and Zhiren Cave in Chongzuo, Guangxi. The findings of these human fossils indicate that early modern humans emerged about 100 ka BP in southern China. The recent discovery and related studies of human teeth at the Fuyan Cave in Daoxian, Hunan Province, further reveal that human groups with fully modern morphology appeared 120 ka-80 ka BP in some regions of southern China. At the same time, in northern China, human groups represented by Xujiayao still kept primitive morphology and did not evolve into early moderns. These research findings suggest that southern China is the central area for the formation and dispersal of modern humans in East Asia. Both early modern humans and fully modern humans probably first emerged in southern China, and then dispersed north. Available fossil evidence shows that Late Pleistocene humans in southern China exhibit pronounced variations and several different evolutionary groups may exist. The Zhiren Cave humans belong to the transitional type from archaic to early moderns; the Daoxian humans represent humans with fully modern morphology. Based on previous studies and analysis of the present paper, the authors believe that Late Pleistocene humans of Liujiang, Ziyang, Lijiang and Tianyuan Cave show more derived fossil morphologies and may represent a type of modern human similar to Daoxian. It is noteworthy that while this kind of research attracts attention to the issue of East Asian modern human emergence and dispersals, paleoanthropological communities have different opinions on this topic.

Sex determination of cross-sectional outlines in modern human skulls: A study based on geometric morphometrics

ZHANG Yameng, WEI Pianpian, WU Xiujie

2016, 35(02):  172-180. 

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Researchers generally identify a skeleton’s sex by looking at size and robustness of the skull, but with this approach it is often difficult to acquire subtle anatomical and shape differences. In order to get more information to identify sex, we use 3D laser scanning and image processing software to extract outline information of 30 male and 30 female modern human skulls unearthed from tombs about 300 years ago in Yunnan Province. Geometric morphometrics are used to analyze the sexual dimorphism in the cross-section outlines of these male and female skulls. Results show that male and female skulls have no significant differences in the outlines of coronal and mid-sagittal sections of the parietal and occipital bone, but have significant differences in the mid-sagittal section of the frontal bone. This study establishes a new method of sex determination in physical anthropology and paleoanthropology.

Morphological analysis of skulls excavated from the Mogou cemetery

ZHAO Yongsheng, ZENG Wen, WANG Hui, MAO Ruilin, ZHU Hong

2016, 35(02):  181-197. 

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This paper outlines the analysis of 295 well-preserved adult skeletons from the Moguo Cemetery located in the Lintan Mogou Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. This total of skulls included 283 individuals (164 males; 119 females) from tombs of the Qijia culture period, dating 4000-3500 years ago, plus 12 individuals (7 males; 5 females) from tombs of the Siwa culture period, dating 3500 3000 years ago. The results of this morphological study indicates a physical continuity between the Qijia and Siwa residents whereby the groups can be easily identified and classified as modern East Asian Mongoloids. In a comparison of several modern and ancient groups, the ancient Moguo inhabitants clearly represent the northeast Asian Mongoloid group, with southern groups (including the ancient Gansu and Qinghai Huoshaogou) and Zhuang group being more similar.

Research on ancient human skulls from the Xinzhouyaozi cemetery of the Eastern Zhou period in Liangcheng county, Inner Mongolia

ZHANG Quanchao; HAN Tao; ZHANG Qun; SUN Jinsong; DANG Yu; CAO Jianen; ZHU Hong

2016, 35(02):  198-211. 

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This paper reports an anthropometrical study of human remains recovered from the Xinzhouyaozi cemetery, a Bronze Age cemetery site located in Liangcheng County, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region. It is estimated that the cemetery can be dated back to the Eastern Zhou period by the artefacts, the shape of the tombs and radiocarbon dating. The skeletal specimens is important in the South and Central Inner Mongolia region at present, so it plays an valuable role in the study of ancient racial type in this region and has become an important gauge for the archaeological culture study in this region. The authors applied anthropometrical methods in quantifying the human skulls. In this article, 31 ancient human skulls (21 male, 10 female) unearthed from the cemetery were studied. Based on differences shown in the morphological features skulls from the Xinzhouyaozi cemetery can be divided into A and B groups. Morphological features of group A crania indicate physical characteristics similar to those in modern North Asiatic Mongoloids with the racial type closely related to the “Ancient Mongolian Plateau Type”. The group B is closely related to the modern East Asiatic Mongoloids and belongs to the “Ancient Central Plains Type”. Another significant difference shown in this cemetery is in the species and number of animals buried in different kinds of tombs. Horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and dogs were identified, but the number of animals buried in group A tombs is much more than in group B. This observation indicates that group A were involved with animal husbandry. However, the existence of pigs and dogs shows that agriculture also played an important subsistence role. The Eastern Zhou Period is an important time when nomadic people from the Mongolian Plateau immigrated southward. The change of the population brought a large revolution in terms of archaeological culture, technology and lifestyle. The existence of different kinds of racial types in one cemetery supports the diversity and integration of the population distribution in this region during the Eastern Zhou Period.

Strontium isotope analysis of human teeth and bones from the Lajia site in Qinghai province

ZHAO Chunyan, WANG Minghui, YE Maolin

2016, 35(02):  212-222. 

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The Lajia site, located in Minhe County, Qinghai Province, is a large settlement site of Qijia Culture dated 3900-4300 BP. The study of the Lajia site is meaningful to understand the ancient civilization in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and its contribution to the local Qijia Culture. This paper analyzed elemental contents of human bones and tooth enamel samples from 42 samples (20 bone and 22 teeth; two contaminated bone samples of the original samples were removed) from 22 individuals ranging in age from child to adult. Eight pig tooth enamel samples were also collected. This research involved thermal ionization mass spectrometry for strontium isotope ratio (87Sr/86Sr). The eight pig samples were chosen to provide an independent gauge for the local ratio of strontium isotopes, because results of 87Sr/86Sr ratios in enamel samples from domestic animals revealed that the standard deviation for pigs was less than that for sheep or cattle at the Lajia site, which meant that pig enamel samples may provide better indicators of local biologically-available strontium isotope ratio signatures. The mean 87Sr/86Sr ratios of eight pig tooth enamel samples was 0.710930 based on which local strontium isotopes ratio range (±2σ) can be obtained as 0.711058-0.710802. Among the 22 individuals subject to our analysis, the strontium isotope ratios of tooth enamel samples of 17 individuals fell into this range, which might indicate local birth and life. Strontium isotope ratios of the tooth enamel samples of two individuals were very close to the upper and lower limits of this range, and are left for further study. Only the ratios of three individuals among the 22 fell outside the range showing that they might have been born in other regions and buried in the Lajia site after death. In addition, the similarities between bone and tooth enamel strontium isotope ratios suggest that native-born people at the Lajia site all had similar diets.

A preliminary report on the 2013 excavation of the Taoshan site, Yichun, Heilongjiang province

CHANG Yang, HOU Yamei, YANG Shixia, ZHANG Wei, LI Youqian, HAO Huaidong, WANG Xuedong, QIU Limin, YUE Jianping, HU Yue

2016, 35(02):  223-237. 

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The Taoshan open-air site (46°54.765’N, 128°12.643’E) is situated in Yichun, Heilongjiang Province, northeast China. It was discovered in 2011 and co-excavated in 2013 and 2014 by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology and the Heilongjiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. From a 24m2 test pit dug in 2013, 982 stone artefacts, 44 pottery sherds and 2 ornaments made in amazonite were unearthed. There were no faunal remains. Different types of cores, scrapers, denticulates, notches, borers, arrowheads, microcores, microblades and blades were identified in lithic assemblage. Raw materials were predominantly tuff, agate, dolomite, basalt and chert. Percussion was the main flint-knapping and retouching technique while pressure retouching was also used on the arrowhead and scraper. The period of the Taoshan site was transitional from the end of late Pleistocene to early Holocene when environmental changes were severe, and specific cultural features in the artifact assemblage were clear. A good stratigraphic sequence characterizes the site. The value of this research is in recognizing the evolution of cultural change in northeast China, and furthering discussion of migration dispersal and cultural diffusion in northeast Asia and North America.

Temporal change of mobility and subsistence strategies in Jundushan Bronze Age pastoralists

HE Jianing

2016, 35(02):  238-245. 

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Pastoralists specialize in animal herding that requires high mobility, however there is enormous variability in subsistence strategies and degrees of mobility in pastoral societies. Jundushan cemeteries are key sites of Bronze Age pastoral Yuhuangmiao culture in North China that lasted for nearly 3 centuries. Till now, little is known about physical changes and its significance on the patterns of pastoralist behaviors. Data on the biomechanical properties of femoral mid-shaft cross-sections of Jundushan groups was collected to investigate lower limb functions or patterns of mobility that relate to pastoral economy. The prevalence of dental caries was recorded in order to evaluate changes in proportion of plant food that correlates to agriculture. The results of this study show that in males there is significant decrease of mobility as indicated by the ratio of anterioposterior to mediolateral second moments of area (Ix/Iy), and a remarkable increase in cariogenic sweet foods as revealed by the rate of dental caries. Females show almost no change in these two aspects. Combined with the changes of cultural relics, physical changes in lower limb function and the presence of dental caries may indicate a reduced dependence on pastoralism and an increase in agriculture, even though pastoralism is always a key subsistence strategy.

Diets of a late Neolithic maritime settlement: Carbon and nitrogen stable isotope analysis of human bones from the Tanshishan site

WU Mengyang, GE Wei, CHEN Zhaoshan

2016, 35(02):  246-256. 

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This study presents the stable isotopic measurements on 18 prehistoric human bones excavated from the Tanshishan site (5000-4300 cal. BP), of which 17 samples were valid. The values of δ13C and δ15N of these valid samples vary between -20.91‰ and -16.49‰, and 8.53‰ and 14.42‰, respectively. The results indicate that most people from Tanshishan were in a high level of the food chain with diets mainly composed of terrestrial C3 foods, herbivores and significant amounts of aquatic resources. Further analysis suggests that there is no obvious relationship between diets and social structure. According to the one way ANOVA statistical analysis, juveniles in Tanshishan were more likely to consume food resources of higher δ15N values than adults. There were no differences between the sexes in dietary patterns. As a maritime settlement, the subsistence economies at Tanshishan are recognized as hunting-fishing-foraging and the rice-based agriculture might have only played a minor role.

Analysis of phytoliths from the Wangyangpan archaeological site, Yulin, North Shaanxi

XIA Xiumin, SUN Zhouyong, YANG Liping, KANG Ningwu, CHEN Xianglong, WANG Changsui, WU Yan

2016, 35(02):  257-266. 

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Located in the farming-pastoral zone in northwestern China, Yulin is an appropriate region for researching environmental changes and human-land relationships. Here we examine the phytolithic record at the Wangyangpan site to reconstruct developmental history of the agricultural economy and to explore the adaptive relationship of the agriculture to the environment from the Late Yangshao to the Early Longshan period. Analysis of phytolith samples from profiles and two pits indicates that different species of millet were the staple food crops cultivated during the Late Yangshao period while common millets (Panicum miliaceum) were superior to foxtail millets (Setaria italica), and that farming declined during the Early Longshan period. Furthermore, it reveals that the climate was slightly cool and dry during archaeological occupation. In addition, abundant phytoliths of Ulmaceae discovered from this site enrich the history of prehistoric plant use in China.

Altitude effects on growth and development of children and adolescents

Huanjiu Xi, Wenhui Li, Youfeng Wen, Kun Liu

2016, 35(02):  267-282. 

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In this research, the effect of altitude on growth and development of 107,986 children and adolescents from 7 to 18 years old in 14 capital cities of China was examined. Altitude, annual precipitation, average annual temperature and annual sunshine hours were regressed using z-scores and developmental scores for height, weight, chest circumference and BMI. Independent of environmental conditions, altitude negatively affected height, weight, chest circumference and BMI by approximately -0.112, -0.101, -0.043 and- 0.118 z-scores per kilometer altitud above sea level, respectively. Approximately 28.0%, 26.8%, 12.0%, 16.8% of a reduction of height, weight, chest circumference and BMI were due to altitude effects among four natural circumference factors. There was a declining gradient from low to high altitude although it was insignificant (P>0.05) for height and chest circumference but significant (P<0.05) for weight and BMI. However, the development level of children and adolescents in low altitude groups is much better than that found in high altitude groups. Altitude was an important factor in affecting growth and development of children and adolescents.

Patterns of human dental wear and their causes: A male case of modern Shui nationalities in Southwest China

LI Fajun

2016, 35(02):  283-299. 

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Over the years, studies of human dental wear concentrated on age determination and comparison of livelihood. However, much research has failed to explain scientifically the causes of human dental wear neglecting particularities of individual wear due to the lack of adequate personal information. This work focuses on the results of a field survey of dental wear and diet of modern male Shui nationalities from Libo County, Guizhou Province. It was found that dental wear is, on the whole, lighter, and shows a positive correlation with age where occlusal wear degenerates with increasing age. Dental wear levels of the Shui nationalities are distributed in a mosaic fashion with different ages and show offside wear among some individuals. The author argues that the phenomenon of mosaic distribution and offside wear commonly exists in humans and may be associated with degenerative physiological attrition, oral health status, diet structure and meal habits.

A study of the attribute codes of Chinese Han men of different ages

WANG Fang, SHEN Maoxiang, ZHANG Jizong, YANG Chaopeng

2016, 35(02):  300-308. 

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Age estimation has been an important part of forensic anthropology. Currently, the main method is the identification of skeletal age, however this method is expensive. Here, the examiner analyzes photographs of different ages as a way to find a new approach to skeletal age identification. The face is divided into three zones: upper, middle and lower thirds of the face. For each third, the examiner observes and measures a number of characteristics. Twelve indices are selected, including eight based on measurements and four on observations. Biocular width, intercanthal width, transverse forehead rhytids and brow ridges are selected to describe the upper third of the face. Physiognomic upper facial height, zygomatic spacing, bizygomatic width, nose width and alar groove are selected to describe the middle third of the face. Mandibular length, mandibular angle width, labial width and ornamental groove are selected to describe the lower third of the face. Every anatomical characteristic is divided by different order of magnitude in order to calculate the frequency of different combination of numbers indicating different parts of the face. On the upper third, the highest frequency combination are 2311, 3311, 2311, 1321 and 1333; the middle third of the face have the highest frequency combination of 1111, 2311, 2111, 1212 and 3232; and the lower third show the highest frequency combinations of 1111, 1111, 2211, 2331 and 3332.

Do non-human primates avoid inbreeding?

ZHANG Peng, WU Chengfeng, CHU Yuanmengran, XU Huanglin

2016, 35(02):  309-320. 

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For the past decade, the idea that non-human primates avoid copulating with close kin in their social group is controversial among anthropologists, biologists and psychologists. Based on the inbreeding avoidance hypothesis, I make three assumptions: 1) Inbreeding is costly and may reduce individual reproductive fitness; 2) The costs of inbreeding outweigh its benefits; 3) If the costs are higher than the benefits, mechanisms to avoid inbreeding should evolve. In this work, I analyzed breeding data from 6 primate families and 19 populations, addressed these three assumptions and evaluated their applicability to these primate groups.