New European fossil hominid material from an Acheulean site near Rome (Castel di Guido)

New fossil hominid material recovered from an Acheulean Italian archeological site is reported. It consists of two portions of femora, an occipital fragment, a fragmentary right maxilla, and a portion of parietal. Each specimen is described in detail and measurements are given. On the basis of the morphology, which includes primitive traits reminiscent of Homo erectus, and of the archeological, paleontological, and stratigraphical association, these new fossils are referred to the early European group.     

Taphonomy of the fossil hominid bones from the Acheulean site of Castel di Guido near Rome, Italy

Castel di Guido near Rome is one of the few open air Middle Pleistocene European sites that has yielded hominid skeletal remains associated with fossil fauna and Acheulean implements. The fossil hominid bones include two femoral shafts, respectively designated Castel di Guido-1 (CdG-1) and CdG-2, an occipital fragment (CdG-3), a right maxilla lacking teeth (CdG-4), a portion of right parietal (CdG-5), a right temporal (CdG-6), and a fragment of left parietal vault (CdG-7). CdG-1 through CdG-4 were collected in 1979-1982 on the surface, together with fossil fauna, where ploughing incised fossiliferous tuffaceous sands. Excavations conducted in the same area from 1980 to 1990 led to the discovery of CdG-5, CdG-6 and CdG-7 within the tuffaceous sands, which were shown to overlay a bone-bearing paleosurface, with abundant evidence of hominid activities. The Castel di Guido hominid assemblage poses intriguing taphonomic questions. The analysis of the physical evidence offered by the bone surfaces, reported in the present study, indicates that the hominid skeletal remains were heavily fragmented before fossilization and exposed to carnivores and rodents, as well as to trampling and/or friction in abrasive sediment. Although definitive conclusions cannot be reached on the basis of the available evidence, it is possible that clusters of incisions localized on specific regions of the Castel di Guido fossil hominid bones might reflect deliberate human manipulations.     

泥河湾盆地三棵树遗址ESR年代学

泥河湾盆地因发育良好的晚新生代湖相地层、丰富的旧石器遗址和哺乳动物化石而广受关注.盆地内已发现旧石器遗址100余处,被学术界称为"东方奥杜韦(Olduvai)峡谷".由于缺乏合适的年代测定方法,许多重要的遗址,尤其是中更新世时间段的遗址缺乏年龄数据,如三棵树遗址,使得旧石器遗址研究少了时间轴合理的年代学框架.电子自旋共...     

蔚县盆地吉家庄旧石器遗址的形成过程

泥河湾盆地发育着我国北方第四纪典型的河湖相沉积体系,因其间富集众多早-中更新世旧石器时代遗址为学术界所关注。本文对泥河湾盆地蔚县吉家庄遗址（JJZ-B和JJZ-E地点）的遗址成因进行分析。地貌和沉积物特点表明,JJZ-B地点埋藏于湖滨相环境的湿地或沼泽环境,JJZ-E地点则属于湖滨相环境下的沙坝沉积体系。遗物的多项指标（遗物空间分布特点、石制品风化磨蚀状况、石制品技术组合与空间产状特征等）分析显示,JJZ-B地点属于近原地埋藏,形成过程中受到微弱的入湖片流改造,遗址完整性较高;JJZ-E地点的遗物连同砾石被湖滨片流搬运至遗址堆积区,后期受到了湖水的淘洗作用,显示异地埋藏的特点。研究表明,泥河湾古湖在中更新世仍保留有丰富的古人类活动信息,湖滨不同部位对遗址成因产生重要影响;该研究对正确解读古人类对吉家庄遗址不同地点的利用方式具有重要意义。     

洛阳北窑黄土旧石器遗址1998年发掘报告

本文报道了洛阳北窑黄土旧石器遗址1998年发掘出土的771件石制品。石制品出自黄土地层S2到L1底部, 相当于200ka BP to 70—80 ka BP, 属于旧石器时代早中期。以S2和S1中最为丰富, 而L1底部和L2中较少; 石制品类型包括石核、石片、断块和断片, 石器数量很少, 仅尖状器和刮削器两类; 和中国北方小石片-刮削器传统有更多的相似之处; 从早到晚,石制品的性质没有明显变化。本文认为北窑遗址属于一处古人类临时加工石器的场所。     

泥河湾盆地葡萄园旧石器遗址

本文报道的葡萄园石制品79件,发现在泥河湾盆地东端河北省阳原县官厅村北小长梁更新世早期旧石器遗址东侧的后石山基部,文化层由下更新统湖滨相冲-洪积砾石层构成,层位与小长梁文化层大致相当,位于Matsuyama负极性时的Jaramillo正极性亚时层段之下,而靠近Olduvai正极性亚时层段顶面,推断其年龄为150~160万年。     

中国旧石器时代早、中期石器技术多样性研究的新进展

关于中国石器技术发展轨迹和特点,其中一种观点认为,在更新世大部分时间内,中国石器技术以第1模式为主。本文结合近年的考古发现和研究成果,对中更新世早期至距今约4万年的中国石器技术面貌进行了简要总结。这段时间内的中国石器技术呈现出明显的多样性和复杂性,尤其自晚更新世以来,多种石器技术体系并存,其中包括以手斧、手镐和薄刃斧等大型工具为特色的阿舍利技术体系、以盘状石核和各类小型工具为特征的小型石片石器技术体系、以勒瓦娄哇石核和尖状器为特点的莫斯特技术体系、以及以基纳型刮削器为主的莫斯特技术体系,后两者具有明显的旧石器时代中期技术特点。多种石器技术体系共存,这一现象反映了技术发展的区域性和该阶段人群构成的多样性,这为探讨古人类环境适应行为以及区域间人群扩散交流提供了重要信息。     

Dating the Lower to Middle Paleolithic transition in the Levant: A view from Misliya Cave,Mount Carmel,Israel

The transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the Levant is a crucial event in human evolution, since it may involve the arrival of a new human population. In the current study, we present thermoluminescence (TL) dates obtained from 32 burnt flints retrieved from the late Lower Paleolithic (Acheulo-Yabrudian) and Early Middle Paleolithic (Mousterian) layers of Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel. Early Middle Paleolithic industries rich in Levallois and laminar products were assigned mean ages ranging from ∼250 to ∼160 ka (thousands of years ago), suggesting a production of this industry during MIS 7 and the early part of MIS 6. The mean ages obtained for the samples associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian (strengthened by an isochron analysis) indicate a production of this cultural complex ∼250 ka ago, at the end of MIS 8. According to the Misliya TL dates, the transition from the Lower to the Middle Paleolithic in the site took place at the limit MIS 8/7 or during the early part of MIS 7. The dates, together with the pronounced differences in lithic technology strongly suggest the arrival of a new population during this period.     

云南鹤庆天华洞旧石器遗址石制品研究

天华洞旧石器遗址是金沙江中游地区财丰河流域旧石器地点群的代表性遗址之一。本文研究的材料来源于该遗址2010、2013和2016三年度的野外调查和试掘。天华洞遗址试掘位置为洞前缓坡区域,地层堆积可划分为5层,其中2-5层为遗址文化层,属红色亚黏土沉积。遗址文化层沉积结构稳定,年代数据分布在距今9.5-5万年之间。遗址共发现石制品1122件,以玄武岩为主要原料。石制品组合的内涵丰富,剥片技术和工具类型多样,一些特殊类型的石制品标本如预制石核、长石片、似-勒瓦娄哇石片、盘状石核石片、似-基纳型刮削器等代表了天华洞遗址石工业独特的技术文化面貌,也表现出西方旧石器时代中期文化的一些技术特点和因素。     

Modern hunting behavior in the early Middle Paleolithic: faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel

Understanding the behavioral adaptations and subsistence strategies of Middle Paleolithic humans is critical in the debate over the evolution and manifestations of modern human behavior. The study of faunal remains plays a central role in this context. Until now, the majority of Levantine archaeofaunal evidence was derived from late Middle Paleolithic sites. The discovery of faunal remains from Misliya Cave, Mount Carmel, Israel (>200 ka), allowed for detailed taphonomic and zooarchaeological analyses of these early Middle Paleolithic remains. The Misliya Cave faunal assemblage is overwhelmingly dominated by ungulate taxa. The most common prey species is the Mesopotamian fallow deer (Dama mesopotamica), followed closely by the mountain gazelle (Gazella gazella). Some aurochs (Bos primigenius) remains are also present. Small-game species are rare. The fallow deer mortality pattern is dominated by prime-aged individuals. A multivariate taphonomic analysis demonstrates (1) that the assemblage was created solely by humans occupying the cave and was primarily modified by their food-processing activities; and (2) that gazelle carcasses were transported complete to the site, while fallow deer carcasses underwent some field butchery. The new zooarchaeological data from Misliya Cave, particularly the abundance of meat-bearing limb bones displaying filleting cut marks and the acquisition of prime-age prey, demonstrate that early Middle Paleolithic people possessed developed hunting capabilities. Thus, modern large-game hunting, carcass transport, and meat-processing behaviors were already established in the Levant in the early Middle Paleolithic, more than 200 ka ago.     

Lower Paleolithic hominin ecology at the fringe of the desert: Faunal remains from Bizat Ruhama and Nahal Hesi, Northern Negev, Israel

The Southern Levant is a pivotal area for the study of hominin paleoecology during the Lower Paleolithic, because of its location on the out-of-Africa dispersal route and its significant ecological diversity. Important information has been gained by archaeofaunal studies, which usually reveal that exploitation of diverse Mediterranean environments with woodlands, marshes and lake margins, represents a dominant subsistence strategy for Lower Paleolithic hominins. Here, we present new taxonomic and taphonomic data from two sites in the southern coastal plain of the Southern Levant, at the fringe of the Negev Desert: Bizat Ruhama (Early Pleistocene) and Nahal Hesi (Middle Pleistocene). The sites preserve anthropogenic faunas, with the former signaling a marrow-exploitation strategy, perhaps related to scavenging from carnivore kills, and the latter showing evidence for primary access to fleshed ungulate carcasses. The species composition of these Northern Negev sites is unique for the Levantine Lower Paleolithic in that these sites lack typical woodland and riparian species, probably indicating an open, relatively uniform environment with patchy water sources and trees, much like this semiarid region today. Bizat Ruhama and Nahal Hesi are among the only Levantine Lower Paleolithic faunas associated with such a setting, thereby widening the known spectrum of environments exploited by hominins in the region. It is suggested that the two sites, coupled with the nearby Late Pleistocene evidence, reflect a largely stable semiarid environment on the northwestern fringe of the Negev Desert throughout much of the Pleistocene.     

蔚县盆地2017-2018年旧石器考古调查简报

蔚县盆地地处泥河湾盆地(广义)的东南端,是更新世人类活动的重要区域。2017-2018年,中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所等在盆地内开展系统的旧石器考古调查,新发现并确认了27处旧石器地点。相关地貌、地层对比显示,新地点年代可大致分为中更新世和晚更新世晚期两个阶段,文化遗物分别埋藏于泥河湾河湖相堆积和黄土堆积中。中更新世石制品类型包括石核、石片、石器和断块等,原料以火山岩为主,均采用锤击法进行剥片和修理石器;晚更新世晚期遗址包括石核、石片和细石叶等,原料以白云岩和燧石居多,火山岩次之,以硬锤锤击法为主要剥片技术,软锤技术少量发现。对石制品初步分析表明,蔚县盆地中更新世地点表现出了一套与阳原盆地早-中更新世不同的原料及石制品组合,且在蔚县盆地晚更新世晚期存在小型石片石器和细石器两种工业。本次调查扩大了泥河湾盆地古人类活动的地理范围与文化内涵,为揭示泥河湾盆地(广义)早期人类的迁徙与适应行为提供了有价值的线索。     

Mobility in Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic Europe: evidence from the lower limb

A growing body of archeological evidence suggests that the dramatic climatic events of the Last Glacial Maximum in Europe triggered important changes in foraging behavior, involving a significant decrease in mobility. In general, changes in mobility alter patterns of bending of the midshaft femur and tibia, resulting in changes in diaphyseal robusticity and shape. This relationship between levels of mobility and lower limb diaphyseal structure was used to test the hypothesized decrease in mobility. Cross-sectional geometric data were obtained for 81 Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic European femora and tibiae. The sample was divided into three time periods: Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP), Late Upper Paleolithic (LUP), and Mesolithic (Meso). In addition, because decreased mobility often results in changes in sex roles, males and females were analyzed separately. All indicators of bending strength decrease steadily through time, although few of the changes reach statistical significance. There is, however, a highly significant change in midshaft femur shape, with LUP and Meso groups more circular in cross-section than the EUP sample, supporting archeologically based predictions of decreased mobility. Sexual dimorphism levels in diaphyseal strength remain low throughout the three time periods, suggesting a departure in Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic foragers away from the pattern of division of labor by sex observed in modern hunter-gatherers. Results confirm that the onset of the Last Glacial Maximum represents a crucial stage in Late Pleistocene human evolution, and signals the appearance of some of the behavioral adaptations that are usually associated with the Neolithic, such as sedentism.     

陕西洋县绿豆梁旧石器遗址出土的石制品

洋县绿豆梁遗址位于汉水北部一级支流金水河左岸的第四级阶地上。为了配合国家重点工程项目——南水北调西线“引汉济渭”工程的建设,2014～2015年对该地点进行了发掘,揭露面积126 m2,出土和采集不同类型的石制品656件。研究显示,早期人类加工石制品的原料来自于河漫滩或阶地古老砾石层中的砾石,岩性包括石英、石英岩、硅质灰岩、石英砂岩、花岗岩等。硬锤打击法是最主要的剥片方式。石制品包含石锤、石核、石片、石器、断块和碎屑等类型。遗址石器组合中既包括刮削器、尖状器、石钻等尺寸较小的轻型石器,也包含重型刮削器、砍砸器等重型石器。通过与位于相同阶地部位、相距2 km的金水河口遗址的测年数据和地层堆积序列对比,绿豆梁遗址的年代属于中更新世时期或更早的时段。     

山西襄汾洞门遗址发掘简报

洞门遗址位于山西省襄汾县新城镇沙女沟村东1 km处,西距丁村遗址5.1 km。2015年10月～2016年5月,山西省考古研究所进行了为期4个月的发掘,发掘面积27 m²。遗址地层自上而下依次为表土层、马兰黄土层(L₁)、棕红色古土壤层(S₁)。包括石制品、动物化石碎片、炭屑等在内的文化遗物均出土于S₁中。另外在遗址西侧100 m左右的L₁内采集石制品2件。石制品原料以角页岩为主,类型包括石核、石片、石器、断块等。与此同时,在沙女沟村东黄土台塬的S₁地层中发现多个类似的原地埋藏的石器地点,说明在末次间冰期丁村遗址群附近汾河东岸至大崮堆山之间的黄土塬区人类活动十分频繁,且持续较长时间。研究表明,洞门遗址是一个别于丁村遗址的河流相埋藏类型的临时营地,它的发现为进一步认识丁村人的活动范围、行为模式以及末次间冰期及末次冰期古人类活动提供了重要资料。     

The Devil's Trails: Middle Pleistocene Human Footprints Preserved in a Volcanoclastic Deposit of Southern Italy

Three fossilized trackways of human footprints were discovered in a pyroclastic flow dated to 385–325 ka, along the western margin of the Roccamonfina volcanic complex in Southern Italy. The pyroclastic flow is zeolite-rich and was probably emplaced at a relatively low temperature, forming a nonwelded pyroclastic deposit. The well-preserved footprints show the interesting strategies used by ancient humans in descending steep slopes. The footprints, short and very broad, are entaxonic, plantigrade, with an average length of 24cm and an average width of 10 cm. The three trackways are narrow with an oblique pace of about 60 cm and a stride of about 120 cm.

If dating constraints are correct, the Roccamonfina human fossil footprints are the oldest known in Europe and among the oldest in the world. Moreover, they are preserved on a steep slope lying in a subaerial setting and are associated with handprints. For their potential in preserving evidence of behavior, these tracks provide unique insight into the activities of some of the earliest known Europeans.     

泥河湾盆地中部东坡旧石器时代早期遗址的发现

东坡遗址发现于泥河湾盆地中部的泥河湾层, 东距虎头梁村约800m。该遗址于2001年试掘了4㎡, 出土石制品32件和少量破碎的动物化石。石制品以小型为主; 类型包括石核、石片、工具、断块等, 以石片和断块居多。石制品原料采自遗址附近的砾石层, 主要有流纹岩、石英闪长岩、燧石、石英和板岩等, 以流纹岩和石英闪长岩居多。经ESR方法测定, 遗址的年代为321±15ka BP, 属于旧石器时代早期偏晚。该遗址是泥河湾盆地中部地区首次发现的旧石器早期文化遗址, 具有重要的科研价值。     

洛南盆地槐树坪地点2013年出土的石制品

洛南盆地槐树坪旧石器地点最初发现于1999年,该地点位于南洛河左岸(北部)支流石门河及石门河的二级支流东麻坪河(石门河一级支流为麻坪河)之间的第四级阶地上,是洛南盆地高阶地旷野旧石器地点群的代表性遗址之一。2004年4~5月和2006年6~7月,槐树坪地点曾历经两次小规模试掘。2013年4~6月,我们对该遗址进行了较大规模的系统发掘,发掘面积56 m~2,出土石锤、石料、石核、石片、工具、断块、碎屑等不同类型石制品830件。本文对2013年发掘出土的石制品进行了初步研究,统计分析结果显示,槐树坪地点加工石制品的原料来自遗址附近河流阶地砾石层中的砾石,其中以石英和石英岩为主,石英砂岩和细砂岩也有使用。剥片方式主要采用锤击法,偶见砸击法和碰砧法。石制品以中型和小型为主。工具多为石片加工而成的刮削器,偶见手斧、薄刃斧、石刀等大型工具。石器加工方向以正向居多。光释光测年数据表明,槐树坪地点埋藏石制品地层堆积物形成年代大约为距今8~9万年到1.3万年之间,其中7~8万年段的地层堆积物中包含石制品较多。槐树坪地点发现的石制品丰富了洛南盆地旧石器遗址的材料,可以使我们更深刻的了解洛南盆地高阶地旧石器遗址群的地层埋藏情况、遗址年代和石器工业内涵。     

Human foot bones from Klasies River main site, South Africa

The caves at Klasies River contain abundant archaeological evidence relating to human evolution in the late Pleistocene of southern Africa. Along with Middle Stone Age artifacts, animal bones, and other food waste, there are hominin cranial fragments, mandibles with teeth, and a few postcranial remains. Three foot bones can now be added to this inventory. An adult first metatarsal is similar in size and discrete anatomical features to those from Holocene burials in the Cape Province. A complete and well-preserved second metatarsal is especially long and heavy at midshaft in comparison to all Holocene and more recent South African homologues. A large fifth metatarsal is highly distinctive in its morphology. In overall size, these pedal elements resemble specimens from late Pleistocene sites in western Asia, but there are some differences in proportions. The fossils support earlier suggestions concerning a relatively high level of sexual dimorphism in the African Middle Stone Age population. Squatting facets on the two lateral metatarsals appear to indicate a high frequency of kneeling among members of this group. The new postcranial material also underlines the fact that the morphology of particular skeletal elements of some of the 100,000-year-old Klasies River individuals falls outside the range of modern variation.