Lithic miniaturization is a key adaptive and technological feature of human populations and one of the key cultural hallmarks in the Late Pleistocene of Eastern Asia.In northern China this form of stone tool technolog...Lithic miniaturization is a key adaptive and technological feature of human populations and one of the key cultural hallmarks in the Late Pleistocene of Eastern Asia.In northern China this form of stone tool technology is well represented,including by microblade technology.Lithic miniaturization has been identified in South China,though this technological feature has received little research attention in comparison to the north.Here,we examine three miniaturized lithic assemblages in South China,ranging from the terminal Pleistocene to middle Holocene.To examine technological variations in lithic miniaturization,the three assemblages were subject to comparative quantitative analyses,including principal component analysis(PCA),K-means clustering and the Zingg system.The three sites were found to exhibit varied temporal and geographic patterns of lithic miniaturization across South China,potentially related to fluctuating climatic conditions and changes in population dynamics since the Late Pleistocene.展开更多
The study of the dispersal of modern humans beyond Africa is of great importance for assessing the adaptive capacities of Homo sapiens and for addressing why we are the only remaining hominin species on the planet tod...The study of the dispersal of modern humans beyond Africa is of great importance for assessing the adaptive capacities of Homo sapiens and for addressing why we are the only remaining hominin species on the planet today.Archaeological and genetic discussions of this process have tended to focus on the so-called"southern"route towards Arabia,South Asia,Southeast Asia,and Australasia and associated coastal and terrestrial environments[1].展开更多
Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The a...Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The associ-ated mammalian fauna include Gigantopithecus blacki, Nes-toritherium sp., Sus xiaozhu, Sus peii and Ailuropoda microta, which are typical early Pleistocene taxa in South China. The general characteristics of the Mohui faunal assemblage are similar to the Longgupo site, which is dated to 2 Ma, imply-ing a contemporaneity for the two sites. To date, compared with the discoveries in Africa, far fewer early Pleistocene hominid fossils have been recovered in Asia, and there are intensive controversies concerning their stratigraphic prove-nience and typological and temporal positions. The hominid fossils from Mohui cave, with their reliable biostratigraphic positions and distinct typological features, provide important evidence regarding the issue of early human origins and evo-lution.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.42177424,No.42488201Youth Innovation Promotion Association of the Chinese Academy of Sciences,No.2020074National Key Research and Development Projects,No.2022YFF0801502。
文摘Lithic miniaturization is a key adaptive and technological feature of human populations and one of the key cultural hallmarks in the Late Pleistocene of Eastern Asia.In northern China this form of stone tool technology is well represented,including by microblade technology.Lithic miniaturization has been identified in South China,though this technological feature has received little research attention in comparison to the north.Here,we examine three miniaturized lithic assemblages in South China,ranging from the terminal Pleistocene to middle Holocene.To examine technological variations in lithic miniaturization,the three assemblages were subject to comparative quantitative analyses,including principal component analysis(PCA),K-means clustering and the Zingg system.The three sites were found to exhibit varied temporal and geographic patterns of lithic miniaturization across South China,potentially related to fluctuating climatic conditions and changes in population dynamics since the Late Pleistocene.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDB26000000)the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(132311KYSB20190008)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41872028,41672024)the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of Chinese Academy of Sciences(2017102)the Max Planck Society。
文摘The study of the dispersal of modern humans beyond Africa is of great importance for assessing the adaptive capacities of Homo sapiens and for addressing why we are the only remaining hominin species on the planet today.Archaeological and genetic discussions of this process have tended to focus on the so-called"southern"route towards Arabia,South Asia,Southeast Asia,and Australasia and associated coastal and terrestrial environments[1].
基金This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.40163001)the Emergency Excavation Fund from the National Culture Relics Bureau of China+1 种基金special funds of“Talents Project in the New Century”of the Guangxi Government(Grant No.2001216)the National Science Foundation,USA.
文摘Two hominid teeth recovered in Mohui cave are morphologically distinguished from Australopithecus in Af-rica, but close to Homo erectus in China. These teeth are therefore provisionally assigned to Homo erectus. The associ-ated mammalian fauna include Gigantopithecus blacki, Nes-toritherium sp., Sus xiaozhu, Sus peii and Ailuropoda microta, which are typical early Pleistocene taxa in South China. The general characteristics of the Mohui faunal assemblage are similar to the Longgupo site, which is dated to 2 Ma, imply-ing a contemporaneity for the two sites. To date, compared with the discoveries in Africa, far fewer early Pleistocene hominid fossils have been recovered in Asia, and there are intensive controversies concerning their stratigraphic prove-nience and typological and temporal positions. The hominid fossils from Mohui cave, with their reliable biostratigraphic positions and distinct typological features, provide important evidence regarding the issue of early human origins and evo-lution.
