上新世以采的中国自然地理环境和中国古人类的进化

本文通过把中国古人类的进化摆到中国这一特定的地理区域、特定的自然地理环境中去作联系的考察,提出如下几点看法:1.中国是世界上很早就为人类所居住的地区之一,受自然地理环境的影响和制约,中国古人类主要生存于自然条件较好的东部季风区域;2.古人类在中国境内主要是由南向北、进而向东北方向扩散和分布;3.中国最早的古人类可能是外来的,可能是从中国南部边境进入中国境内的。     

台湾海峡晚更新世人类肱骨化石

产自台湾海峡海底的人类右肱骨石化程度高; 个体大而粗壮 ,三角肌粗隆发育 ,骨干上下两半段不在同一纵轴上 ,形成 6 5°的夹角 ,这些显示不同于新石器时代和现代人的原始性状 ,其演化水平和日本的港川人及欧洲的克罗马农人相当。与人化石一同捞出的哺乳动物化石有古菱齿象、野马、最后鬣狗、达氏四不像鹿等 ,表明其时代为晚更新世晚期。     

清流狐狸洞人类牙齿化石记述

１９８９年在福建清流狐狸洞发现的五枚人类牙齿化石,全部出自晚更新世地层,伴生的动物群表明其地质时代为晚更新世晚期。这五枚晚期智人的牙齿在形态上无异于现代人．     

安徽和县猿人化石及有关问题的初步研究

安徽省和县猿人化石产地龙潭洞自1974至1980,先后经和县文化局、省水文地质工程地质队、省文物局和中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所等单位的调查和发掘,获得了一个猿人头盖骨,部分下颌骨和零星牙齿。这些材料大约代表3个个体,包括青年、壮年和老年。在同一层位发现的脊椎动物化石经初步鉴定,大约50种。另外,在遗址中还发现一些骨、角制品和烧过的骨、牙碎片。化石层的地质时代属更新世中期,昔日的生态环境为森林草原,气候趋于凉爽。     

New Australopithecus femora from East Rudolf, Kenya

New fossil femora attributed to Australopithecus from East Rudolf, Kenya, form the basis for a three-dimensional reconstruction of a complete femur. The reconstruction and the known fossils are compared with the femora of Homo sapiens. Although many of the features of the fossil bones fall within the overall ranges to be found in modern man, there seems, nevertheless, to be a distinctive total pattern in the femoral anatomy of Australopithecus. Biomechanical explanations for this pattern may be possible when other postcranial bones can be reconstructed with the same degree of certainty as the femur.     

Evolution of the supraorbital region in Upper Pleistocene fossil hominids from South-Central Europe

South-Central European fossil hominids dated to the Upper Pleistocene exhibit a distinct morphological and metric continuum in supraorbital form from early Neandertal (Krapina), through late Neandertals (Vindija), to early Upper Paleolithic hominids. The supraorbital morphologies pertinent to this continuum are documented, and the alterations in size and morphology are discussed ralative to the function of supraorbital superstructures and their relationship to overall craniofacial form. It is concluded that this continuum most likely reflects localized transition between Neandertals and modern man in this region of Europe.     

鸽子洞的人类化石

鸽子洞遗址经过1973和1975发掘,发现大量石制品、用火遗迹和动物化石。笔者在鸽子洞所出的动物碎骨中拣出三件人类化石,它们的形态特征及尺寸都和现代人没有区别,属发展阶段的晚期智人,地质时代为晚更新世晚期。     

魏敦瑞对北京猿人化石的研究及其人类演化理论

魏敦瑞对中国猿人（现为直立人北京亚种）,化石作了详尽而深入的描述并指出了直立人的典型特征。他正确地推测, 在从猿到人的演化过程中首先是直立姿势的采用, 跟着是头骨的变化, 脑的扩张是头骨变化的动因。本世纪前半叶, 魏敦瑞第一次用一个图将所有已知的人类化石集合在一起, 作系统排列的尝试, 来表示整个人类的演化过程。他相信所有化石人类属于一个种, 能够互相杂交, 人类不是起源于一个地方, 而是起源于几个地方。他反对南方古猿曾经参与人类进化的说法, 代之以认为人类进化的早先各期是巨人阶段, 但是他的巨人理论迄今没有化石的证据。关于现代人的起源, 多地区起源说和非洲起源说目前正在激烈争论之中。     

L’Homme fossile d’Asselar (actuel Mali). Étude critique,mise en perspective historique et nouvelles interprétations

During the well known Augiéras-Draper mission which took place in 1927 and 1928 between Dakar and Alger through the Sahara desert, T. Monod and V. Besnard discovered a human skeleton near the military post of Asselar in French Sudan (current Mali). Back in France, the fossil was given to the Institut de Paléontologie Humaine where M. Boule and H. Vallois were in charge of its study. This work was then published in 1932. After this first exhaustive study, Asselar man was barely used in anthropological studies, with the exception of O. Dutour's works in the 90's. The goal of this study is to understand why, despite some prestige, this fossil didn’t have the importance he was fated with its geographical and chronological position. Publications of the first third of the twentieth century, archives about this discovery and the skeleton it-self are in the center of this new analysis. Results show that because of the lack of specification about its unearthing and its dating, Asselar fossil is hardly usable in an anthropological perspective. It although shows that Boule et Vallois limited the study of this fossil to a discussion about the Grimaldi “race”, designation not use anymore. This race was created in 1906 by R. Verneau and the discussion of the relation between Asselar man and Grimaldi race was a virulent debate at this time. Finally, the study of Asselar skeleton with archeo-anthropological principles gave the opportunity to demonstrate, for the first time, a sepulchral context. This rehabilitation of Asselar fossil gives new perspectives which would be investigate with new approaches in dating, genetics, 3D imaging… and will fully contribute to discussions about North Africa peopling.     

The dynamics of bioresources and activity of the paleolithic man, using the example of northwestern Altai Mountains

Long-term studies of living and fossil mammals of the Altai Mountains (= Gornyi Altai) revealed the pattern of the dynamics of small mammal communities in this region in the second half of the Pleistocene, in the Holocene, and the present time. The fossil fauna of the Anui River valley differs significantly from the modern one. The Pleistocene fauna of Paleolithic sites reflects a considerably more diverse biotopic situation and high landscape diversity compared with the present time. This diversity depended on a stronger role in the communities of steppe and highland elements. The influence of Paleolithic man on Late Pleistocene populations of ungulates and large predators is detected.     

Probit analysis of Upper Pleistocene hominids

Probit analysis allows the testing of the normality of a sample population where curve fitting and differential weighting occur simultaneously. Probit analysis may be utilized with small samples, and is ideal for use in the study of fossil populations. It is assumed that population which are normally distributed are likely to be in genetic equilibrium, so that graphic and computational probit analysis may be used to discern the effects of evolutionary forces on human populations. Probit analysis of cranial length in a sequence of Athenian population is presented in order to verify its sensitivity to these evolutionary forces. Probit analysis and other tests of homogeneity are applied to similar variables of Upper Pleistocene European Neandertal and modern man.Despite significant differences between variable means of Neandertal and modern man, probit analyses of their combined populations showed no less deviation from normality than either group separately. This suggests that the evolutionary changes in the cranium from the Neandertal stage to the modern stage of man were effected without significantly disrupting the genetic equilibrium of these populations, i.e. that rapid changes in these populations are unlikely to have occurred.     

Australopithecine dental dimensions in a contemporary population

Two unrelated American negro males with extremely large teeth are described. The maximum reported values for Australian aboriginal mesiodistal crown diameter are exceeded in 8 out of 16 tooth groups. The majority of the negro dental measurements either exceed or lie between the mean values given in the literature for Australopithecus and Paranthropus. This casts doubt on the concept that a distinct morphological gap separates fossil from contemporary man.     

The improper use of fossil nomenclature

Retention of obsolete genera and species, and premature acceptance of provisional genera and species unnecessarily inhibit meaningful communication between students of fossil man.     

中国北方化石昆虫群的建立及其演化序列(英文)

作者几十年来已积累了众多的中国北方古生代晚期、中生代和第三纪的昆虫化石标本,对其长期的系统研究结果表明：中国北方昆虫化石演化序列可以划分为三个大的演化阶段,即古生代晚期、中生代和第三纪演化阶段,其中包含14个昆虫群虫和29个昆虫组合。这些昆虫群及其组会既反映了北方昆虫在地质历史上兴衰的发展规律,也为地层划分、对比与地质时代的鉴定提供了依据。     

陕西洛南人牙化石及其地质时代

在陕西省洛南县洛河左岸洞穴中,发现一古人类上臼齿,其特点与郧县人牙化石很相似。与人牙化石共存的有大熊猫和獏。后二者比华南洞穴中常见的同类化石明显小,比广西柳城巨猿洞中的小型者要大。从化石特点分析,洛南人牙化石及其所在沉积层的时代为中更新世早期(也有早更新世晚期的可能)。     

ESTABLISHMENT OF FOSSIL ENTOMOFAUNAS AND THEIR EVOLUTIONARY SUCCESSION IN NORTH CHINA*

Abstract According to a systematic study of large numbers of fossil insects collected from the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Tertiary strata in North China, three evolutionary mega-stages of fossil insects including 14 fossil entomofaunas and 29 entomassemblages have been established. These insect faunas reflect their order or law of evolution—the history of their rise and fall, and form their evolutionary succession in North China. Such a history provides an important reference not only for understanding fossil insects through time, but also showing for stratigraphical correlation.     

Mandible allometry in extant and fossil Balaenopteridae (Cetacea: Mammalia): the largest vertebrate skeletal element and its role in rorqual lunge feeding

Rorqual whales (crown Balaenopteridae) are unique among aquatic vertebrates in their ability to lunge feed. During a single lunge, rorquals rapidly engulf a large volume of prey‐laden water at high speed, which they then filter to capture suspended prey. Engulfment biomechanics are mostly governed by the coordinated opening and closing of the mandibles at large gape angles, which differentially exposes the floor of the oral cavity to oncoming flow. The mouth area in rorquals is delimited by unfused bony mandibles that form kinetic linkages to each other and with the skull. The relative scale and morphology of these skeletal elements have profound consequences for the energetic efficiency of foraging in these gigantic predators. Here, we performed a morphometric study of rorqual mandibles using a data set derived from a survey of museum specimens. Across adult specimens of extant balaenopterids, mandibles range in size from ～1–6 m in length, and at their upper limit they represent the single largest osteological element of any vertebrate, living or extinct. Our analyses determined that rorqual mandibles exhibit positive allometry, whereby the relative size of these mandibles becomes greater with increasing body size. These robust scaling relationships allowed us to predict mandible length for fragmentary remains (e.g. incomplete and/or fossil specimens), as we demonstrated for two partial mandibles from the latest Miocene of California, USA, and for mandibles from previously described fossil balaenopterids. Furthermore, we showed the allometry of mandible length to body size in extant mysticetes, which hints at fundamental developmental constraints in mysticetes despite their ecomorphological differences in feeding styles. Lastly, we outlined how our findings can be used to test hypotheses about the antiquity and evolution of lunge feeding. © 2012 The Linnean Society of London     

Length estimate for KNM-ER 736, a hominid femur from the lower pleistocene of East Africa

Our knowledge concerning stature in earlyHomo is scanty. In this paper, based on comparison with the fossil femur KNM-ER 999, an estimate of 482 mm femur length is derived for KNM-ER 736, the latter dating from the Lower Pleistocene. From comparison with other fossil and modern femora, KNM-ER 736 appears to be the longest hominid femur so far recovered from a site of Early Pleistocene age. Moreover, the estimated femur length is higher than the published mean values of most modern populations. Provided that trunk and head proportions were not radically different from modernH. sapiens, the finding would suggest that a stature similar to that of modern man was already reached by East AfricanHomo as early as about 1.6 Myr before present.     

Neandertal vocal tract reconstructions: A critical appraisal

Although numerous arguments have been advanced against Lieberman & Crelin's hypothesis that Neandertal man lacked fully developed human speech, few of these have been noted in the recent literature. Fewer still have criticized Lieberman & Crelin specifically on their anatomical approach. This is, however, perhaps the weakest point in the hypothesis.The method of vocal tract reconstruction used by Lieberman & Crelin was not accurate due to the use of casts which are stylized models rather than accurate representations. Their comparisons of human newborns and adult Neandertal can be criticized on many grounds. Furthermore, their attempt to analyze the total functional complex underlying speech fails because of their inability to use parallel resonators in the acoustic analysis. Their method of placement of the larynx may be subject to errors due to deformation of the fossil, drying of the skull, and effects of fossilization. Relations between the tongue and larynx upon which Lieberman & Crelin's conclusions are partly based are totally invalid. Their conceptions of the posture of fossil men are also in error.Although Lieberman & Crelin retreat from the usual formation of hypotheses based on speculation alone, the anatomic reconstructions are a weak link in their hypothesis. Until this weakness can be corrected, their contribution towards solving the question of speech in Neandertals remains limited.     

Global Completeness of the Bat Fossil Record

Bats are unique among mammals in their use of powered flight and their widespread capacity for laryngeal echolocation. Understanding how and when these and other abilities evolved could be improved by examining the bat fossil record. However, the fossil record of bats is commonly believed to be very poor. Quantitative analyses of this record have rarely been attempted, so it has been difficult to gauge just how depauperate the bat fossil record really is. A crucial step in analyzing the quality of the fossil record is to be able to accurately estimate completeness. Measures of completeness of the fossil record have important consequences for our understanding of evolutionary rates and patterns among bats. In this study, we applied previously developed statistical methods of analyzing completeness to the bat fossil record. The main utility of these methods over others used to study completeness is their independence from phylogeny. This phylogenetic-independence is desirable, given the recent state of flux in the higher-level phylogenetic relationships of bats. All known fossil bat genera were tabulated at the geologic stage or sub-epoch level. This binning strategy allowed an estimate of the extinction rate for each bat genus per bin. Extinction rate—together with per-genus estimates of preservation probability and original temporal distributions—was used to calculate completeness. At the genus level, the bat fossil record is estimated to be 12% complete. Within the order, Pteropodidae is missing most of its fossil history, while Rhinolophoidea and Vespertilionoidea are missing the least. These results suggest that 88% of bats that existed never left a fossil record, and that the fossil record of bats is indeed poor. Much of the taxonomic and evolutionary history of bats has yet to be uncovered.