华北细石器技术的出现与发展

本文拟简要介绍近年来华北地区新发现的细石器遗存,并对细石器技术出现与发展等问题进行初步探讨。新发现显示,29-26 kaBP左右在华北地区石叶-细石器技术的出现,可能是受到MIS2阶段环境变化的影响,阿尔泰等中-北亚地区人群与旧石器文化的南迁扩散所致。其后,华北地区以船型细石核为代表的宽台面技术的出现与扩散过程,则反映了该地区原住民应对LGM期间环境变迁的适应策略与发展历史。虎头梁类型的楔形石核细石器技术的进退,同样展现了晚更新世末东北亚地区人群的流动性及环境变化的耦合关系。     

MIS3阶段嵩山东麓旧石器发现与问题

最近10多年来,经过系统调查,已有300多处旧石器遗址或地点发现在嵩山东麓。其中在属于淮河水系的贾鲁河、潩水河、洧水河等河流上游河谷地带的发现尤为丰富。在系统调查工作基础上,已有多个遗址经过正式发掘,如新郑赵庄与黄帝口、登封西施及郑州西南郊二七区老奶奶庙等。调查与发掘资料显示,在距今50000年前后至20000多年的嵩山东麓地区,经历了一个古人类发展的繁荣时期。这些新发现初步揭示了MIS3阶段以来,区内古人类栖居形态与发展情况,以及这些发现所展现的现代人类及其行为的出现与发展特点。新发现也显示嵩山东麓MIS3阶段旧石器经历了从石片石器、石叶到细石器技术的发展历程。     

2020年江西高安上湖旧石器遗址发掘报告

上湖遗址埋藏于锦江右岸第3级阶地顶部的红色黏土堆积中。2020年对上湖遗址B区进行了发掘,发现石制品3030件。石制品类型包括石核、石片、石器、断块、碎屑和未经加工的砾石;原料主要来自附近河滩的砾石,岩性以脉石英为主;石核剥片以锤击法为主,辅以砸击法,缺乏预制程序,盘状石核占有一定比例;石器类型多样,以刮削器为主,另有少量凹缺器、锯齿刃器、尖状器和钻等;石器毛坯以断块和石片为主,修理程度有限。从尺寸来看,上湖遗址石制品组合表现出明显的小型化特征。初步光释光测年结果显示,古人类在该遗址频繁活动的时间始于距今约2.6万年前,处于深海氧同位素2阶段（MIS 2阶段）的早期。上湖遗址的发掘,为认识中国南方地区小型石片石器工业的出现和发展等问题提供了重要材料。     

百色盆地旧石器暨旧大陆早期人类迁徙与演化国际学术研讨会在广色百色市召开

2005年12月6日“百色盆地旧石器研究暨旧大陆早期人类迁徙与演化国际学术研讨会”（International Symposium on Migration and Evolution of Eady Humansin the Old Wodd）在百色市隆重开幕。中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所高星副所长、中共百色市委梁春禄书记、美国史密森研究院鲍立克（Richard Potts）博士、广西文化厅陈映红副厅长分别在开幕式上致词。来自法国、印度、德国、美国、西班牙、英国、以色列、南非等国的20位和中国8个省份包括台湾在内共40余名国内外专家出席开幕式并参加了4天的学术研讨和野外参观活动。大会收到参会论文46篇,共有33位中外学者在大会上作报告。     

东亚现代人来源的考古学思考:证据与解释

现代人的起源与扩散是当今古人类学界极具争议的问题。目前,"多地区进化"假说和非洲起源为主的"同化"假说是该争议的两大阵营。在"多地区进化"假说的基础上,立足中国的化石材料,吴新智提出了中国乃至东亚古人类"连续演化、附带杂交"的假说,认为中国的现代人主要由本地古老类型人类演化而来。本文从现代人扩散关键时段的考古材料出发,讨论氧同位素5～3阶段(大约13～3万年)考古材料在研究中国现代人形成中的作用和存在的挑战。首先,概括介绍现代人起源的主要假说和现代人扩散的假定路线——南线和北线的多重证据;其次,在此背景下,通过对中国境内考古材料的概括,分析不同石器技术可能反映的现代人来源;最后,简要探讨立足考古材料研究现代人起源与扩散的挑战。总体而言,氧同位素5～3阶段的旧石器考古材料支持中国北方南部和中国南方古人类的连续演化,同时也指示了非洲扩散而出的现代人人群自西北地区和南方地区进入中国的可能性。该模式支持中国古人类"连续演化、附带杂交"假说,然而我们也认识到中国现代人起源研究的考古基础仍十分薄弱,使用考古学材料研究现代人扩散的理论基础也需探讨。目前,细化、完善基础考古数据仍是中国旧石器时代考古学和古人类学学者努力的主要方向之一。如此,我们才能够更加有效地将人类化石与考古学证据融合,进而结合分子生物学的研究,更为全面地理解现代人的起源与演化。     

内蒙古鄂尔多斯乌兰木伦遗址MIS3阶段的植被与环境

鄂尔多斯高原拥有我国最早发现的水洞沟和萨拉乌苏旧石器遗址,是系统研究东亚现代人演化及动因的重要地区。乌兰木伦遗址位于鄂尔多斯康巴什新区乌兰木伦河岸,发掘出大量石制品、动物化石和炭屑,遗存埋藏的14C年代在41.4~33.1 cal ka BP之间,属MIS 3阶段中期。花粉和木炭化石记录显示,早期为灌丛-草原,晚期为典型草原植被,气候温凉偏干,较现今相对温暖湿润,胡颓子属和霸王属等小乔木和灌木作为先民使用的薪材。MIS 3阶段相对暖湿气候有利于人类的繁衍、扩散和交流,可能是我国北方地区旧石器时代晚期出现大量人类活动的重要原因。     

华北晚更新世的石片石器

本文首先简要梳理了晚更新世华北地区石片石器发展历程;进而探讨石片石器与南邻的砾石工业,北部边疆地区新发现的莫斯特文化遗存,以及更晚来自西北方向的石叶/细石器技术的交流互动。在此基础上,重点讨论晚更新世华北石片石器与现代人在该地区出现与发展历程之间的关系,提出石片石器是华北地区旧石器文化发展的主流,亦是追溯该地区现代人出现与发展课题至关重要的考古学证据。     

Application of remote sensing to site characterisation and environmental change analysis of North African coastal lagoons

This article describes the use of satellite imagery for identifying key environmental characteristics within three North African coastal lagoons (Merja Zerga, Morocco; Ghar El Melh, Tunisia and Lake Manzala, Egypt) and for detecting the major environmental changes within these environments. A combination of Landsat MSS, Landsat TM, Landsat ETM+ and ASTER imagery was acquired for the three sites for a period covering the last three decades (1972–2004). Following geometric correction and enhancement, the interpretation of the most recent image acquired for each of the three lagoons provides important insights into their current conditions. For Merja Zerga, these include the distribution of the largest channels which drain extensive inter-tidal mudflats and the two major depositional features associated with sources of freshwater. The distribution of marginal aquatic vegetation is highlighted as is the intensive use of the surrounding landscape for agriculture. Intensive agriculture around Ghar El Melh is also indicated. The influence of the Mejerda River, which was diverted away from the lagoon over 100 years ago, is shown to persist as a residual area of deltaic deposits in shallow water that has been eroded over time. Coastal processes including the direction of the alongshore sediment transport and the influence of engineering work associated with port construction can also be recognised. Within Lake Manzala, vegetated islands divide the lake into a series of sub-basins which can be clearly distinguished. The large influence of human activities within this lake can be identified and include reclamation for agriculture and the conversion of parts of the lake bed for fish farms. The historical images available for the three lagoons provide important insights into decadal scale changes, which have been greatest at Lake Manzala. Since the early 1970s large parts of the lake, in particular in the southwest where the shoreline has migrated northwards, have been reclaimed. Major engineering works, such as the El Salam Canal and road embankments, are shown to have resulted in significant lake change. The distribution of emergent vegetation within the lake has also changed. Classification of images for this lake into open water, vegetation and land enables the quantification of these changes. Between 1973 and 2003, the lake declined in area by approximately 50%. Changes at Merja Zerga over the last three decades include reconfiguration of the marine outlet and the expansion of the internal delta at the end of the Nador Canal. The images of this site clearly demonstrate the intensification of agriculture around the lagoon. The most marked changes evident within the images of Ghar El Melh concern the sand bars that separate the lagoon from the sea. Geomorphological processes operating within the coastal zone have resulted in the straightening of the bars with central sections migrating out towards the sea. Remote sensing is established as a promising application for detecting the quantitative surface cover changes in coastal lagoons and their near landscapes. Guest editors: J. R. Thompson & R. J. Flower Hydro-ecological Monitoring and Modelling of North African Coastal Lagoons     

制作工具在人类演化中的地位与作用

制作工具曾经被视作人类独有的行为能力,"人类"曾经据此而定义。但目前学术界将直立行走作为人类区别于其他灵长类最重要的体质与行为特征。少量其他动物种类,尤其是非人高等灵长类,也能使用工具乃至简单制作工具。如何认识制作工具在人类演化中的作用?人类制作工具的能力与其他动物有何区别?考古学是否有能力分辨人类的工具和其他灵长类的产品?本文通过对现代巴西猴群敲砸石头的行为及其产品、4300年前黑猩猩的"石制品"和早期人类石制品的比较研究,指出人类的工具与其他动物制作和使用的工具存在根本的区别;工具制作和使用对确定人类的演化方向,增强人类的适应生存能力,塑造人类的大脑与心智及行为方式,提升语言和交流能力,形成现代人类的身心和社会,至关重要,不可或缺。考古工作者一方面需要谨慎分辨、研究人类工具制作初期的产品,不使其与自然的产物和其他动作的作品相混淆,另一方面应该认识到人类工具制作在计划性、目的性、预见性、规范性和精美度上具有唯一性,有内在的智能控制、思维逻辑和规律可循。学科发展的积累和现代科技的支撑使考古学者具有多方面的利器,能够把人类工具制作的历史挖掘、复原出来,能够破译特定的石器技术和功能,进而将人类演化的历史画卷描绘得更加精细,更加完整。     

Variable shifts in spring and autumn migration phenology in North American songbirds associated with climate change

Monitoring studies find that the timing of spring bird migration has advanced in recent decades, especially in Europe. Results for autumn migration have been mixed. Using data from Powdermill Nature Reserve, a banding station in western Pennsylvania, USA, we report an analysis of migratory timing in 78 songbird species from 1961 to 2006. Spring migration became significantly earlier over the 46-year period, and autumn migration showed no overall change. There was much variation among species in phenological change, especially in autumn. Change in timing was unrelated to summer range (local vs. northern breeders) or the number of broods per year, but autumn migration became earlier in neotropical migrants and later in short-distance migrants. The migratory period for many species lengthened because late phases of migration remained unchanged or grew later as early phases became earlier. There was a negative correlation between spring and autumn in long-term change, and this caused dramatic adjustments in the amount of time between migrations: the intermigratory periods of 10 species increased or decreased by > 15 days. Year-to-year changes in timing were correlated with local temperature (detrended) and, in autumn, with a regional climate index (detrended North Atlantic Oscillation). These results illustrate a complex and dynamic annual cycle in songbirds, with responses to climate change differing among species and migration seasons.     

The Early-Middle Pleistocene environmental and climatic change and the human expansion in Western Europe: A case study with small vertebrates (Gran Dolina, Atapuerca, Spain)

The dispersal of hominins may have been favored by the opening of the landscape during the Early-Middle Pleistocene transition (EMP) in Western Europe. The structure of the small-vertebrate assemblages of the archaeo-paleontological karstic site of Gran Dolina in Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) shows important environmental and climatic changes in the faunal succession, across the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary at 780 ka. These changes are interpreted to indicate impoverishment of the forests, along with an increase in dry meadows, and open lands in general that entailed a tendency towards the loss of diversity in small-vertebrate communities above the EMP. We evaluate variation in diversity of the faunal succession of Gran Dolina using Shannon’s Second Theorem as an index of ecosystem structure. The long cultural-stratigraphic sequence of Gran Dolina during the EMP is somewhat similar in its completeness and continuity to that in the locality of Gesher Benot Ya'aqov in the Upper Jordan Valley. We also evaluate related data including faunal and floral (pollen) succession. Both localities present cold, dry and humid, warm fluctuations at the transition between the Early and the Middle Pleistocene. Comparisons between these sites present opportunities to understand large-scale climatic changes.     

全球气候变化背景下华北平原气候资源变化趋势

在全球气候变化的大背景下,过去几十年,华北平原气候资源也发生了相应的变化,这一变化对该区域的粮食生产将产生深刻的影响。利用华北平原1961-2007年逐日气候资料,探讨了不同年代际间该区域气候资源的空间分布特征。研究结果表明:气候变暖使华北平原热量资源更加丰富,全区≥0℃和≥10℃积温呈整体增加趋势,空间分布呈北移东扩的变化特征;且气候带移动特征明显,向北移动了3个纬度,约300多km。过去47a,华北区域年降水量呈下降趋势,平均下降速率为18mm/10a。夏、秋两季降水量呈减少趋势,速率在25-40mm/10a之间;春、冬两季降水量呈微弱增加趋势,但增加幅度小于夏、秋两季的减少幅度。年平均参考作物蒸散量呈整体下降趋势,减幅小于降水量的变化趋势。全区日照时数显著减少,纬向分布特征明显,以大中城市附近减少最为突出。