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    15 December 2003, Volume 22 Issue 04
    Preliminary study on Jingshuiwan paleolithic site, three gorges region
    PEI Shu-wen; GAO Xing; FENG Xing-wu; CHEN Fu-you; WEI Qi; ZHU Song-lin; LI Guo-hong; WU Tian-qing
    2003, 22(04):  261-278. 
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    The Jingshuiwan Paleolithic site, buried in the second terrace of the right bank of the Yangtze River, is located in the Xinwan village, Sanhe town, Fengdu county, Chongqing. The site was excavated from 1998 —2002 for five successive seasons, exposing an area of about 2 121m2, as past of the salvage archeological project in the Three Gorges Region.
    Seven stratigraphic layers were identified at the site, with the total thickness of more than 21 meters. Archaeological materials were mainly unearthed from the 7th layer, a layer of fine sands, 2.0m in thickness, 158—162m above the sea-level, in clear primary context. A total of 910 stone artifacts and some mammalian teeth and bones,including Stegodon, Cervids and Bovids,were unearthed from the site.
    The stone assemblage includes cores (304), flakes (382), stone hammers (4), chunks (102) and retouched tools (118). The general features of these artifacts are summarized as follows:
    1)Stone raw materials exploited at the site were locally available from ancient riverbeds. More than 5 kinds of raw material were utilized in core reduction and tool manufacture: silicarenite, quartzite, hypabyssal irruptive rock, volcanic rock and volcanic breccia lava. Silicarenite is the predominant raw material used for producing stone artifacts at the site.
    2)The principal flaking technique at the site is direct hammer percussion without core preparation.
    3)About 7. 6 percent of flakes could have been utilized directly without modification.
    4)Major blanks for tool fabrication are complete flakes (67.0 %), followed by cores and incomplete flakes.
    5)Most tools are large and middle in size.
    6)Choppers and scrapers are the dominating tool types, followed by points and notches.
    7)Modified tools appear to be retouched by direct hammer percussion, mostly unifically retouched on the dorsal surface of blanks.
    The Jingshuiwan stone tool assemblage shows close tie with the Main Industry in South China. Comparative studies indicated that it might serve as a technological link between Paleolithic industries from the Sichuan Basin and that from the lower reach of the Yangtze River.
    Environmental analyses conclude that hominids at Jingshuiwan site were living in warmmoist climatic condition, indicated by the existence of coniferoustrees, broad-leaf trees, and mixed forest-prairie vegetations. Optically Stimulated Lumininescene dating on soil samples that from the artifact-bearing layer has yielded an age close to 80, 000 B. P., which place the Jingshuiwan industry to the Middle Paleolithic in China.
    Naming and prelimimary study on the gategory of the "Donggutou core"
    HOU Ya-mei
    2003, 22(04):  279-292. 
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    This paper is extracted from the author' s PhD dissertation on the lithic industry of the Donggutuo site in the Nihewan basin of North China, which is a fluvio-lacustrine deposit of the Lower Pleistocene. Previous work at the site in the 1980s and 1990s included continuous, systematic excava- tions and basic studies of the abundant cultural remains. The study has applies statistical analysis and a more detailed analysis of the technology and typology to the complete sample of lithic material from the 1980s excavations. It is concluded that Donggutuo site was a small tool-manufacturing locality where small elongated flakes and other various small tools, mostly made on small flakes, were pro- duced, which represent a Lower Paleolithic small-tool tradition of North China. The noticeable and dis- tinct new category of “Donggutuo (DGT)Core” is further proposed in the present paper.
    As a new discovered category the naming and preliminary study of the “Donggutuo Core” are introduced with detail based on the new method of observation and statistic. The close relationship between “Donggutuo Core” and Upper paleolithic wedge-prepared core is outlined and the further research work about it has been kept in good consideration. It is evaluated that the “Donggutuo Core (DGT Core)” is significant and inspired in research of Lower Paleolithic in North China.
    To summary the concept of the “Donggutuo Core(DGT Core)”, a new typologically named category it could be defined asfollows: “DGT Core” is a sort of prepared core discovered from Donggutuo site of Lower Pleistocene in the Nihewan basin of Northern China, which was wedge-prepared for producing small elongated flakes. Considering “cha?ne opératoire” the selection and design of the whole body of the “DGT Core”, its trimming work on the platform, sides and initiated knapping on the ends indicate a very close relationship with Upper Paleolithic wedge-shaped microlithic core in China, Northeast Asia and North America. It extends the beginning of microlithic tradition much earlier than previously recognized in Northern China. It is said that “Donggutuo Core” might become a new crucial clue in exploring the source of northern China' s small tool industry and origin of the microlithic cultural tradition.
    Shandong microblade industries and re-evaluation of Fenghuangling cultures
    SHEN Chen;; GAO Xing; HU Bing-hua
    2003, 22(04):  293-307. 
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    This study examines lithic artifacts recovered from four Upper Palaeolithic sites from south- ern Shandong, and the preliminary results suggest that lithic industries in the study region are more complex than we previously thought. Different techniques can be recognized, which make it apparent that the concept of a “Fenghuangling Culture” is no longer relevant. Microblade technology was clearly defined based on three sites: Fenghuangling, Qingfengling, and Wanghailou. At Wanghailou the use of raw materials and reduction techniques are distinctive, possibly indicating a variation of the Shan- dong microblade industries. The Heilongtan site represents a flake-core reduction technology, resulting in a non-microblade tradition at the site, a finding which contradicts previous arguments that this site has yielded a microblade assemblage. Investigationsfrom additional fieldwork at the Heilongtan site in- dicate that microblade remains previously collected from this site derive from secondary deposits, as a result of erosion from upland microblade locations, such as Wanghailou.
    New materials from Salawusu sites of North China: paleoliths of 1980 excavation at Fanjiangouwan
    HUANG Wei-wen; HOU Ya-mei
    2003, 22(04):  309-320. 
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    The Salawusu valley is located at the southeastern extremity of the Ordos Plateau in Inner Mongolia, North China. It has been known as one of the key Paleolithic sites in northeastern Asia since 1923 when French paleontologists Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Emile Licent found stone and bone artifacts, remains of fire use as well as abundant mammalian fossils from the fluvialacustrine de- posits of the Upper Pleistocene at Yangsigouwan. Stone artifacts from the 1980 excavation at another locality, Fanjiagouwan, are described in the present paper including cores, flakes, retouch flakes (de- bris) and tools, totaling 192 pieces as well as 10 pieces collected during 1978 —1979. The other as- sociated materials like bone artifacts, fragments of mammals, remains of fire use, and the issue of dat- ing for the sites will be reported by other chance.
    Most of the stone artifacts were made on a variety of black or gray siliceous shale pebbles, brown quartzite, and gray or white quartz. Based on an survey in 1980, the raw materials are thought to be collected from the western highland about 43km from the sites. No any stone gravel has been found in Salawusu valley. Most utilized pebbles are originally ranged from 20 to 40 mm in diameter;conse- quently the tools made from these raw materials are particularly minute with 25. 3mm long equally, 55 ×35 ×13. 2mm of the largest one and 7. 5 ×11 ×3mm of the smallest one so that were thought as “purement microlithique” by Henri Breuil (Boule et al., 1928. p. 125).
    Most implements are flake tools, although some fashion on nuclei or pebbles have also been recovered. Simple direct percussion seems the common means of core reduction as well as pressure. Considering the minute size and according to the technique characters of the Salawusu retouch flakes and implements, pressure flaking seems to have been used in retouching commonly. In most cases, re- touching on specimens at Salawusu is meticulous and fine, although the cutting margins on more implements are rather sinuous. Typical implements include borers, side scrapers, notches, denticulates, end scrapers, burins, and micro-choppers, of which the borers are the most regular and the side scrap- ers are the most divers with simple, straight, double-edge, convergent, and transverse varieties represented.
    Geologically, the early researchers distributed the Salawusu sites to the upper Malan Loess of North China, which is equal to the late Upper Pleistocene. However, recent research tends to suggest the early Upper Pleistocene, i. e. the stage 5 of MIS for the sites.
    The malocclusion of the skeleton of the Wei-jin period from Lmadong cemetery of Beipiao
    ZHANG Quan-chao; LIU Zheng; ZHU Hong
    2003, 22(04):  321-327. 
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    The material on which this report is based was recovered during a series of archaeological excavation carried out from 1993 to 1998, at Lamadong cemetery in Beipiao, Liaoning. The date of this site is estimated to be about 1600 —1700 years ago. Malocclusion is one of oral diseases with high mor- bidity today. This paper described the incidences of the malocclusion of 87 skeletons unearthed from Lamadong cemetery in Beipiao, Liaoning, and discussed the relationship between the frequency of malocclusion, on the one hand, and sex and age on the other. The result is as follows: (1)Among the 87 individuals whose upper and lower dental archers were preserved intact, 57. 43 % had normal occlusion and 42. 53 % had malocclusion ; in Angle' s classification of malocclusion, class Ⅰ occured most fre- quently, which accounts for 70. 27 %. This is different from the occlusal condition of the present people. The most of malocclusions in Lamadong group were due to abnormal positions of individual teeth while most malocclusions of modern people belong to the categories of anomaly of dental arches or jaw bones. (2)The frequency of the malocclusion had no marked sexual difference. (3)Formation of hu- man malocclusion had certain association with the dietary traditions decided by their economic status. (4)The forms of the dental arch of human being are classified as ovoid arch form, square arch form and V-shaped arch. The ovoid types represents the majority,V-shaped arch, or tapering type occurred rarely. Among the dental arches of these ancient individuals ovoid arch form or square arch form oc- curred in 97. 7 % cases. This is also different from modern people. (5)In 54.02 % cases of the Lamadong people the abraded occusal surface looked flatter and even,while in most of the present people it appears very uneven and rocky.
    Study on mtDNA polymorphism of ancient human bone fron Hami of Xinjiang, China 3200BP
    HE Hui-qin; ; JIN Jian-zhong; ; XU Chun; JIANG Yan-rui; ZHU Qi-quan; TAN Jing-ze; ; HUANG Wei; XU Yong-qing; JIN Li; ; REN Da-ming
    2003, 22(04):  329-337. 
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    This report describes the polymorphism analysis for mtDNA D-loop high variable region of ancient human bone,which were from the tumulus in Wupu, Hami, Xinjiang, China. Combining with the data of morphological analysis of physical anthropology,we studied and discussed the race identification by using the molecular biotechnology methods. The results show that there were Yellow race and European in these tumuli and they might coexist in the district of Hami,Xinjiang 3200 years ago.
    The influence of the fragmentation of Habitat upon the number of population of Rhinopithecus Bieti
    DING Wei; ; YANG Shi-jian; LIU Ze-hua;
    2003, 22(04):  338-344. 
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    The geographic range of Rhinopithecus bieti is in the Trans-Himalayas, bounded by the upper Yangtze River to the east and the upper Mekong River to the west, and between 26°14′N and 29°20′E. We made several surveys on the status and habitat of R. bieti from 1999 to 2002. Reportedly, the total population was estimated to be 1 200 —1700, belonging to 13 groups. We found four groups of monkeys that were not previously reported, and 5 groups might have been extinct. The north- ernmost group at Mangkang had divided into two groups. The exact ranges of other groups had shifted more or less. From the northernmost, Mangkang in Tibet, to the southernmost, Yunlong in Yunnan, and with the elevation decreasing there are several vegetation types where monkeys can utilize. Based on rigorous standard, only two monkey groups are not subjected to effects of small group, and the habi- tat corridors, which are subjected to threats of logging, grazing, and mining, etc., are severely damaged. Comparing the present data to the data collected ten year ago (except new founding group), the status of the species is not very optimistical. The total number of R. bieti declined 32 %, 5 out of 14 groups are extinct, 4 groups declined, other 4 groups stay same or declined lightly, there are only 1 group showed growth trend. The five extinct groups have rung an alarm bell for the fate of this species. To protect existing corridors and restore the vanished or disturbed corridors should be one of the vital steps for the conservation of the species.
    Investigation on Abo blood types' distribution and gene frequency of the ethnic groups in western Guizhou
    QI Xiao-lan; SHAN Ke-ren; XIE Yuan; XIU Jin; WU Chang-xue; REN Xi-lin
    2003, 22(04):  345-348. 
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    The ABO blood types of 1260 randomly selected samples of six ethnic groups in Western Guizhou were analyzed. The gene frequencies of Bouyei 、Miao 、Man and Bai close each other, in com- parison with these groups Yi and Gelo have great differences. The distribution of ABO blood types in Bouyei 、Miao 、Man and Bai is O >B>A >AB, while it is O >A >B>AB in Yi and A >O >B>AB in Gelo. The study demonstrates that the ABO phenotypes' distribution and gene frequencies are com- paratively stable in this area and the distribution conforms to Hardy-Weinberg balance.