A Homo habilis maxilla and other newly-discovered hominid fossils from Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania

In 1995, a 1.8 million year old hominid maxilla with complete dentition (OH 65) was excavated from Bed I in the western part of Olduvai Gorge. The molar crowns are small relative to the long flaring roots, and the root of the canine is very long and straight. The broad maxilla with wide U-shaped palate and the form of the tooth roots closely match those of KNM-ER 1470 which, in its parietal size and morphology, matches the type specimen of Homo habilis, OH 7. Thus, OH 65 and KNM-ER 1470 group with OH 7 as representatives of H. habilis while some other Olduvai specimens, such as OH 13 and OH 24, have more in common in terms of morphology and brain size with Australopithecus africanus. Between 1995 and 2007, the OLAPP team has recovered teeth of eight other hominid individuals from various parts of Olduvai Gorge. These have been identified as belonging to H. habilis, Paranthropus boisei, and Australopithecus cf. africanus.     

Pathology of Bedouin skeletal remains from two sites in Israel

Frequency of pathology and of some anomalies in skeletons of Bedouin living about 200 BP, uncovered in the Israeli Negev, is considered in relation to particular bone, sex, age-group, and kinds of defects. The environment of the Bedouin in relation to his “health-status” is noted. Two-thirds of the skeletons had one or more different bones with defects. Incidence of crania with defects was: males, 26%; females, 18%; the highest incidence occurred at age 35–49. Alveolar abscesses occurred in 28% of maxillae, 9% of mandibles. Of the long bones, the tibia was most frequently affected (15%): swelling of the shaft, relatively common, was apparently caused by bejel, a non-venereal form of syphilis, similar to yaws, endemic to the Bedouin. Forty-eight percent had defective vertebrae, usually an arthritic manifestation of one kind or another; half of this group had defects in more than one region of the spine. Defects also occurred relatively frequently in the innominata, sacrum, scapula, and clavicle, mostly arthritic lesions except in the sacrum in which the percentage with sacral hiatus was high. Average age at death was, males, 43 years, females, 33 years (adults only), and 28 years for all ages.     

Morphometric analysis of hominoid lower molars from Yuanmou of Yunnan Province, China

Shape analyses of cross-sectional mandibular molar morphology, using Euclidean Distance Matrix Analysis, were performed on 79 late Miocene hominoid lower molars from Yuanmou of Yunnan Province, China. These molars were compared to samples of chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan,Lufengpithecus lufengensis, Sivapithecus, Australopithecus afarensis, and human mandibular molars. Our results indicate that the cross-sectional shape of Yuanmou hominoid lower molars is more similar to the great apes that to humans. There are few differences between the Yuanmou,L. lufengensis, andSivapithecus molars in cross-sectional morphology, demonstrating strong affinities between these three late Miocene hominoids. All three of the fossil samples show strong similarities to orangutans. From this, we conclude that these late Miocene hominoids are more closely related to orangutants than to either the African great apes or humans.     

Auditory ossicles from southwest Asian Mousterian sites

The present study describes and analyzes new Neandertal and early modern human auditory ossicles from the sites of Qafzeh and Amud in southwest Asia. Some methodological issues in the measurement of these bones are considered, and a set of standardized measurement protocols is proposed. Evidence of erosive pathological processes, most likely attributed to otitis media, is present on the ossicles of Qafzeh 12 and Amud 7 but none can be detected in the other Qafzeh specimens. Qafzeh 12 and 15 extend the known range of variation in the fossil H. sapiens sample in some metric variables, but morphologically, the new specimens do not differ in any meaningful way from living humans. In most metric dimensions, the Amud 7 incus falls within our modern human range of variation, but the more closed angle between the short and long processes stands out. Morphologically, all the Neandertal incudi described to date show a very straight long process. Several tentative hypotheses can be suggested regarding the evolution of the ear ossicles in the genus Homo. First, the degree of metric and morphological variation seems greater among the fossil H. sapiens sample than in Neandertals. Second, there is a real difference in the size of the malleus between Neandertals and fossil H. sapiens, with Neandertals showing larger values in most dimensions. Third, the wider malleus head implies a larger articular facet in the Neandertals, and this also appears to be reflected in the larger (taller) incus articular facet. Fourth, there is limited evidence for a potential temporal trend toward reduction of the long process within the Neandertal lineage. Fifth, a combination of features in the malleus, incus, and stapes may indicate a slightly different relative positioning of either the tip of the incus long process or stapes footplate within the tympanic cavity in the Neandertal lineage.     

安徽繁昌晚新生代裂隙堆积中的松鼠类化石（英文）

描述了安徽繁昌癞痢山塘口晚新生代裂隙堆积物中发现的松鼠类材料。化石代表松鼠亚科的4个族,共有5属6种,其中包括一个新属和两个新种,即树松鼠族的Sciurus sp.,花鼠族的Tamias sp.和Plesiosciurus zhengi sp.nov.,旱獭族的Sciurotamias wangi Qiu,2002和S.teilhardi Zheng,1993,以及巨松鼠族的Pseudoratufa wanensis gen.et sp.nov.。所研究的材料系混合地采自同一裂隙堆积的4个不同层位,化石的组分可能代表从早中新世至更新世的不同时段。繁昌的这一松鼠组合具有中国中南部晚新生代松鼠动物群的特色,并含有稀奇的Pseudoratufa属。该新属的牙齿形态显示了其树栖松鼠的特征,而且可以归入甚为稀有的巨松鼠族。其遗骸具有与该地点发现的古猿、硅藻鼠和河狸类化石相似的石化和堆积过程,似乎表明这些动物属于时代相同或较接近的群体,它们的共存也说明了繁昌地区在中新世时有过相对湿润的森林生境。     

New Late-Pleistocene uranium–thorium and ESR dates for the Singa hominid (Sudan)

The Singa (Sudan) calvaria has been interpreted previously as a terminal Pleistocene modern human fossil, perhaps related to the Bushman of Southern Africa. Here we report new mass-spectrometric U–Th dates for the calcrete deposit enclosing the fossil teeth and the calvaria itself and new electron spin resonance (ESR) dates for associated dental materials. The new data constrain the age of the hominid to at least 133±2 ka. Together with the preferred linear uptake (LU) ESR dates, the U–Th data confirm that the intriguing mixture of modern and archaic characteristics in the Singa specimen date from isotope stage 6. Far from being a modern human fossil, it represents a rare example of an archaic African population which may have been ancestral to all modernHomo sapiens.     

中国云南元谋上新世千屈菜科紫薇木属一新种

报道了来自中国云南元谋新华土林上新世地层的木化石新种——元谋紫薇Lagerstroemioxylon yuanmouensis Y．M．Cheng,C．S．Li,X．M．Jiang＆Y．F．Wang。目前紫薇属Lagerstroemia分布于亚洲至澳大利亚北部的热带森林中,其中有一些种在我国的西南部和台湾省也有分布。在印度、缅甸、印度尼西亚和德国的第三纪地层中曾报道有紫薇属木化石的存在,这表明该属在第三纪分布的范围比现代更广。     

A hominid mandible from East Rudolf, Kenya

A hominid mandible, KNM-ER 1482, is described. Provisionally it has not been assigned to any existing species or genus. However, after detailed anatomical and comparative studies have been carried out, its taxonomic status will be reviewed.     

U-Series dating of Liujiang hominid site in Guangxi,Southern China

It has been established that modern humans were living in the Levant and Africa ca. 100ka ago. Hitherto, this has contrasted with the situation in China where no unequivocal specimens of this species have been securely dated to more than 30ka. Here we present the results of stratigraphic studies and U-series dating of the Tongtianyan Cave, the discovery site of the Liujiang hominid, which represents one of the few well-preserved fossils of modern Homo sapiens in China. The human fossils are inferred to come from either a refilling breccia or a primarily deposited gravel-bearing sandy clay layer. In the former case, which is better supported, the fossils would date to at least approximately 68ka, but more likely to approximately 111-139ka. Alternatively, they would be older than approximately 153ka. Both scenarios would make the Liujiang hominid one of the earliest modern humans in East Asia, possibly contemporaneous with the earliest known representatives from the Levant and Africa. Parallel studies on other Chinese localities have provided supporting evidence for the redating of Liujiang, which may have important implications for the origin of modern humans.     

Pliocene hominid partial mandible from Tabarin, Baringo, Kenya

Sediments in the Tugen Hills, west of Lake Baringo, Kenya, form one of the best fossiliferous successions known in Africa spanning the period from 14 my to less than 4 my. Hominoid fossils have previously been recovered from a number of localities in the region. We describe here a new hominid mandible (KNM-TH 13150) from the site of Tabarin, in the Chemeron Formation. Isotopic determinations on a tuff below the fossiliferous horizon gives dates of 4.96 my and 5.25 my. The associated fauna is consistent with these results and independently suggests a minimum age for the specimen of 4.15 my. Although fragmentary, the preserved morphology of the Tabarin mandible is consistent with the diagnosis of the Pliocene hominid Australopithecus afarensis. It can be distinguished from all other currently recognized hominoid taxa.     

A hominid tooth from Bulgaria: the last pre-human hominid of continental Europe

A hominid upper premolar was discovered in the Azmaka quarry, near Chirpan (Bulgaria). The associated fauna, especially the co-occurrence of Choerolophodon and Anancus among the proboscideans, and Cremohipparion matthewi and Hippotherium brachypus among the hipparions, constrains the age of the locality to the second half of the middle Turolian (ca. 7 Ma), making it the latest pre-human hominid of continental Europe and Asia Minor. The available morphological and metric data are more similar to those of Ouranopithecus from the Vallesian of Greece than to those of the early to middle Turolian hominids of Turkey and Georgia, but the time gap speaks against a direct phyletic link, and Turolian migration from the east cannot be rejected.     

Reexamination of the immature hominid maxilla from Tangier,Morocco

Reexamination of the immature Upper Pleistocene hominid maxilla from Mugharet el-'Aliya (Tangier), Morocco is undertaken in light of new evidence on the growth and development of Upper Pleistocene hominids. Metric and qualitative comparisons were made with 17 immature Upper Pleistocene maxillae, and with a recent Homo sapiens sapiens sample. No unambiguous criteria for aligning the maxilla with Neandertals were found, although one character, the degree of maxillary flexion on the zygoma, strongly suggests that this child could be a representative of H. s. sapiens. The probable lack of a canine fossa in Mugharet el-'Aliya 1, the primary criterion used previously to align it with Neandertals, cannot be accurately extrapolated to its adult form from this juvenile. The present evidence suggests that it is inappropriate to refer to this fossil as “Neandertal-like” or as a North African “neandertaloid.” Thus, the Tangier maxilla should not be cited as evidence for the presence of Neandertal facial features in North Africa during the Upper Pleistocene. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of human remains from the Yuansha site in Xinjiang,China

The Yuansha site is located in the center of the Taklimakan Desert of Xinjiang, in the southern Silk Road region. MtDNA was extracted from fifteen human remains excavated from the Yuansha site, dating back 2,000–2,500 years. Analysis of the phylogenetic tree and the multidimensional scaling (MDS) reveals that the Yuansha population has relatively close relationships with the modern populations of South Central Asia and Indus Valley, as well as with the ancient population of Chawuhu.