At Quesang on the Tibetan Plateau we report a series of hand and foot impressions that appear to have been intentionally placed on the surface of a unit of soft travertine.The travertine was deposited by water from a ...At Quesang on the Tibetan Plateau we report a series of hand and foot impressions that appear to have been intentionally placed on the surface of a unit of soft travertine.The travertine was deposited by water from a hot spring which is now inactive and as the travertine lithified it preserved the traces.On the basis of the sizes of the hand and foot traces,we suggest that two track-makers were involved and were likely children.We interpret this event as a deliberate artistic act that created a work of parietal art.The travertine unit on which the traces were imprinted dates to between~169 and 226 ka BP.This would make the site the earliest currently known example of parietal art in the world and would also provide the earliest evidence discovered to date for hominins on the High Tibetan Plateau(above 4000 m a.s.l.).This remarkable discovery adds to the body of research that identifies children as some of the earliest artists within the genus Homo.展开更多
在第二次青藏科考过程中,作者在西藏自治区拉萨市邱桑村的古泉华沉积上新发现了由5个手印和5个脚印组成“岩面艺术”(parietal art)。对这一“岩面艺术”进行解剖学测量、3D模型模拟、铀系测年和手脚印形态分析后,得到以下认识:①“岩...在第二次青藏科考过程中,作者在西藏自治区拉萨市邱桑村的古泉华沉积上新发现了由5个手印和5个脚印组成“岩面艺术”(parietal art)。对这一“岩面艺术”进行解剖学测量、3D模型模拟、铀系测年和手脚印形态分析后,得到以下认识:①“岩面艺术”是在泉华没有成岩之前由古人类有意压上去的;②“岩面艺术”所在岩层的U/Th年代为226~169 ka B.P.,这其中包含一个手指印岩层的表面直接年龄(207~188 ka B.P.);③这一发现是迄今为止发表的古人类在青藏高原上活动的最早记录之一,也为古人类适应高寒、低氧环境提供了新的证据;④此岩面艺术是目前世界上已知的最古老的艺术,上面的手印也是古人类留下的最早的手印;⑤这一原始的岩面艺术表明,创作它的古老人种可能具有一定的认知和空间感知能力,此岩面艺术的发现也将有可能改写人类艺术史,并且加深我们对已消失的古人类认知水平的认识。展开更多
In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the s...In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the same stratigraphic layer.The age of this site was estimated from faunal comparisons and palaeomagnetism and has been attributed to the Early Pleistocene,most probably the earlier Early Pleistocene.The human teeth from this site have been well studied.However,the stone artifacts are still unknown to most scholars.This paper thus presents an analysis of the lithics as the first firmly demonstrated stone tools associated with Early Pleistocene human fossils in south China.展开更多
The Qinling Mountain Range(QMR)spans a large region in China and is an important area of hominin activities.Many Paleolithic sites are found in Bahe,South Luohe,and Hanjiang river valleys in the northern,eastern,and s...The Qinling Mountain Range(QMR)spans a large region in China and is an important area of hominin activities.Many Paleolithic sites are found in Bahe,South Luohe,and Hanjiang river valleys in the northern,eastern,and southern part of the range,respectively.The Danjiang River valley acts as a channel connecting these valleys and stretches from the north to the south of the QMR.The previous dating of the Paleolithic sites in the Danjiang valley mainly relied on geomorphologic comparison,stratigraphic correlation,fossil characteristics,and Paleolithic artifacts,indicating a lack of absolute data.In this study,we conducted a detailed geochronological investigation of the entire valley,and selected an ideal site—the Miaokou profile.Based on the identification of the loess-paleosol sequences,optically stimulated luminescence,and magnetostratigraphy,the Paleolithic artifacts of the Miaokou site located within the S5 and S6 layers of the profile belong to~0.6-0.7 Ma.This suggests that the Paleolithic site is an old site in the Danjiang River valley,and this period also witnessed a rapid increase in the number of hominin sites during the Middle Pleistocene.Combining our results with previous reports across the QMR,we propose that the Danjiang River valley might have been a corridor for hominin migration,and is worthy of further investigation.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41971110 and 41888101)the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(2019QZKK0601)the Early Career Scheme of Research Grants Council of Hong Kong(28300717)。
文摘At Quesang on the Tibetan Plateau we report a series of hand and foot impressions that appear to have been intentionally placed on the surface of a unit of soft travertine.The travertine was deposited by water from a hot spring which is now inactive and as the travertine lithified it preserved the traces.On the basis of the sizes of the hand and foot traces,we suggest that two track-makers were involved and were likely children.We interpret this event as a deliberate artistic act that created a work of parietal art.The travertine unit on which the traces were imprinted dates to between~169 and 226 ka BP.This would make the site the earliest currently known example of parietal art in the world and would also provide the earliest evidence discovered to date for hominins on the High Tibetan Plateau(above 4000 m a.s.l.).This remarkable discovery adds to the body of research that identifies children as some of the earliest artists within the genus Homo.
文摘在第二次青藏科考过程中,作者在西藏自治区拉萨市邱桑村的古泉华沉积上新发现了由5个手印和5个脚印组成“岩面艺术”(parietal art)。对这一“岩面艺术”进行解剖学测量、3D模型模拟、铀系测年和手脚印形态分析后,得到以下认识:①“岩面艺术”是在泉华没有成岩之前由古人类有意压上去的;②“岩面艺术”所在岩层的U/Th年代为226~169 ka B.P.,这其中包含一个手指印岩层的表面直接年龄(207~188 ka B.P.);③这一发现是迄今为止发表的古人类在青藏高原上活动的最早记录之一,也为古人类适应高寒、低氧环境提供了新的证据;④此岩面艺术是目前世界上已知的最古老的艺术,上面的手印也是古人类留下的最早的手印;⑤这一原始的岩面艺术表明,创作它的古老人种可能具有一定的认知和空间感知能力,此岩面艺术的发现也将有可能改写人类艺术史,并且加深我们对已消失的古人类认知水平的认识。
基金funded by the Chinese Academy of Sciences Pioneer Hundred Talents Programthe China-South Africa Bilateral Programme in Palaeolithic Archaeology to Gao Xing(Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, China-South Africa Joint Research Program-7)K.Kuman(National Research Foundation,Grant No.88480)
文摘In this paper we report on Longgudong,an Early Pleistocene cave site in south China which was systematically excavated in 1999 and 2000,and where human teeth and associated stone artifacts were discovered within the same stratigraphic layer.The age of this site was estimated from faunal comparisons and palaeomagnetism and has been attributed to the Early Pleistocene,most probably the earlier Early Pleistocene.The human teeth from this site have been well studied.However,the stone artifacts are still unknown to most scholars.This paper thus presents an analysis of the lithics as the first firmly demonstrated stone tools associated with Early Pleistocene human fossils in south China.
基金National Social Science Foundation of China,No.19ZDA225National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.41972185The Project of Zhengzhou University,No.XKZDJC202006。
文摘The Qinling Mountain Range(QMR)spans a large region in China and is an important area of hominin activities.Many Paleolithic sites are found in Bahe,South Luohe,and Hanjiang river valleys in the northern,eastern,and southern part of the range,respectively.The Danjiang River valley acts as a channel connecting these valleys and stretches from the north to the south of the QMR.The previous dating of the Paleolithic sites in the Danjiang valley mainly relied on geomorphologic comparison,stratigraphic correlation,fossil characteristics,and Paleolithic artifacts,indicating a lack of absolute data.In this study,we conducted a detailed geochronological investigation of the entire valley,and selected an ideal site—the Miaokou profile.Based on the identification of the loess-paleosol sequences,optically stimulated luminescence,and magnetostratigraphy,the Paleolithic artifacts of the Miaokou site located within the S5 and S6 layers of the profile belong to~0.6-0.7 Ma.This suggests that the Paleolithic site is an old site in the Danjiang River valley,and this period also witnessed a rapid increase in the number of hominin sites during the Middle Pleistocene.Combining our results with previous reports across the QMR,we propose that the Danjiang River valley might have been a corridor for hominin migration,and is worthy of further investigation.
