(一)人类学的起源“人类学”Anthropology一字,来自希腊文的Anthropos+Logia,意思是“研究人的学问”,后来通称为“人的科学”(Science of man),在十九世纪中期,始成为一门独立的学科。但人们研究人类自身的历史,则起源很早。在远古时代...(一)人类学的起源“人类学”Anthropology一字,来自希腊文的Anthropos+Logia,意思是“研究人的学问”,后来通称为“人的科学”(Science of man),在十九世纪中期,始成为一门独立的学科。但人们研究人类自身的历史,则起源很早。在远古时代,人类对不能解释的一切自然现象和人类本身的谜,不断进行着探索,例如天地是怎样生成的?“人”的起源怎样?“人”究竟是什么东西?为什么人类有不同的体质(肤色、毛发、面型)?人种又是怎样形成的?等等。姑无论它是神话还是不科学的幻想,都可以说是对“人”的研究。展开更多
For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern hu...For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern human fossils and genetic studies, the “Out of Africa” hypothesis is based on the belief that the ancestor of all modern humans, in- cluding modern Chinese, came from Africa. The op- posite hypothesis “Mutiregional evolution” proposes that continuous evolution occurred on a regional scale, for which human paleontology offers strong support. However, due to the paucity of hominid fos- sils in China between 100 and 50 ka, support to the latter hypothesis is currently weak. This is a report here of five human fossil teeth, and associated stone tools and mammal fossils from a newly discovered cave site, Huanglong Cave, located in Yunxi County, Hubei Province, China. Preliminary studies indicate: (1) the morphological features of the human fossils resemble those of late Pleistocene human fossils from China; (2) the stone tools display patterns of both the southern and northern Paleolithic cultures of China; (3) the mammal fossils represent the “Ailuro- poda-Stegodon” faunal unit which lived in southern China throughout the Pleistocene. ESR and U-series dating on animal teeth and a stalagmite derived from the same layer as the human teeth indicate two possible ages: 103±1.6 ka and 44±12.5 ka. In addi- tion to other evidence presented here, it is believed that hominid occupation of the cave was likely around 100 ka. If this age is further substantiated, Huanglong Cave will be the first late Pleistocene hominid fossilsite in China where anatomically modern humans lived about 100 ka. The human fossils and other re- lated materials from Huanglong Cave will provide important information for research on the origin of modern Chinese.展开更多
文摘(一)人类学的起源“人类学”Anthropology一字,来自希腊文的Anthropos+Logia,意思是“研究人的学问”,后来通称为“人的科学”(Science of man),在十九世纪中期,始成为一门独立的学科。但人们研究人类自身的历史,则起源很早。在远古时代,人类对不能解释的一切自然现象和人类本身的谜,不断进行着探索,例如天地是怎样生成的?“人”的起源怎样?“人”究竟是什么东西?为什么人类有不同的体质(肤色、毛发、面型)?人种又是怎样形成的?等等。姑无论它是神话还是不科学的幻想,都可以说是对“人”的研究。
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 40472106 , 40572104) the Major Basic Research Projects of Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400).
文摘For the past 20 years the modern hu- man origins debate has received a significant amount of attention in paleoanthropological research. Primar- ily supported by the evidence of earlier dates of anatomically modern human fossils and genetic studies, the “Out of Africa” hypothesis is based on the belief that the ancestor of all modern humans, in- cluding modern Chinese, came from Africa. The op- posite hypothesis “Mutiregional evolution” proposes that continuous evolution occurred on a regional scale, for which human paleontology offers strong support. However, due to the paucity of hominid fos- sils in China between 100 and 50 ka, support to the latter hypothesis is currently weak. This is a report here of five human fossil teeth, and associated stone tools and mammal fossils from a newly discovered cave site, Huanglong Cave, located in Yunxi County, Hubei Province, China. Preliminary studies indicate: (1) the morphological features of the human fossils resemble those of late Pleistocene human fossils from China; (2) the stone tools display patterns of both the southern and northern Paleolithic cultures of China; (3) the mammal fossils represent the “Ailuro- poda-Stegodon” faunal unit which lived in southern China throughout the Pleistocene. ESR and U-series dating on animal teeth and a stalagmite derived from the same layer as the human teeth indicate two possible ages: 103±1.6 ka and 44±12.5 ka. In addi- tion to other evidence presented here, it is believed that hominid occupation of the cave was likely around 100 ka. If this age is further substantiated, Huanglong Cave will be the first late Pleistocene hominid fossilsite in China where anatomically modern humans lived about 100 ka. The human fossils and other re- lated materials from Huanglong Cave will provide important information for research on the origin of modern Chinese.