周口店直立人3号头骨的性别和年龄:南京直立人头骨的启示

周口店直立人3号头骨是1929年发现的, 被步达生鉴定为一青春期或成年期的女性个体的头骨。后来, 步达生改变了观点, 认为该头骨是代表青春期早期的男性个体。魏敦瑞同意步达生的意见, 但认为该头骨应属于8岁或9岁的男性个体。此后,周口店直立人3号头骨的性别和年龄的鉴定一直困扰着许多古人类学家。1993年发现的南京直立人成年女性头骨在形态上和尺寸上与周口店直立人3号头骨有相近之处。本文对周口店直立人3号头骨与南京直立人等头骨作了形态和测量上的比较, 结果表明: 从头骨的尺寸大小, 眶上圆枕、枕圆枕和肌嵴的发育程度以及头骨骨壁厚度等来看, 周口店3号头骨有理由被认为是女性个体的。该头骨的鼓骨裂、下颌骨关节窝、泪腺窝、额窦、骨缝等都无法证明其是幼年个体。周口店直立人3号头骨应代表成年女性个体。     

Middle Pleistocene human cranium from Tangshan (Nanjing), Southeast China: a new reconstruction and comparisons with Homo erectus from Eurasia and Africa

The morphology and affinities of early and middle Pleistocene Homo erectus in East Asia have been explored since the late nineteenth century. A fragmentary hominid cranium (Nanjing no.1) recovered in Tangshan near Nanjing, China bears directly on these issues. In the present study, the morphological features of Nanjing no.1 are described and compared with Homo erectus from both Eurasia and Africa. Our results indicate that this middle Pleistocene hominid fossil should be referred to as Homo erectus. The sharing of typical Homo erectus features with African and European counterparts demonstrates that Homo erectus is a widely distributed lineage that evolved during the million years after its Pliocene origins. The differences between Nanjing no.1 and Zhoukoudian suggest certain level of regional variation in East Asian Homo erectus.     

A new Homo erectus (Zhoukoudian V) brain endocast from China

A new Homo erectus endocast, Zhoukoudian (ZKD) V, is assessed by comparing it with ZKD II, ZKD III, ZKD X, ZKD XI, ZKD XII, Hexian, Trinil II, Sambungmacan (Sm) 3, Sangiran 2, Sangiran 17, KNM-ER 3733, KNM-WT 15 000, Kabwe, Liujiang and 31 modern Chinese. The endocast of ZKD V has an estimated endocranial volume of 1140 ml. As the geological age of ZKD V is younger than the other ZKD H. erectus, evolutionary changes in brain morphology are evaluated. The brain size of the ZKD specimens increases slightly over time. Compared with the other ZKD endocasts, ZKD V shows important differences, including broader frontal and occipital lobes, some indication of fuller parietal lobes, and relatively large brain size that reflect significant trends documented in later hominin brain evolution. Bivariate and principal component analyses indicate that geographical variation does not characterize the ZKD, African and other Asian specimens. The ZKD endocasts share some common morphological and morphometric features with other H. erectus endocasts that distinguish them from Homo sapiens.     

New 1.5 million-year-old Homo erectus maxilla from Sangiran (Central Java, Indonesia)

Sangiran (Solo Basin, Central Java, Indonesia) is the singular Homo erectus fossil locale for Early Pleistocene Southeast Asia. Sangiran is the source for more than 80 specimens in deposits with ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of 1.51-0.9 Ma. In April 2001, we recovered a H. erectus left maxilla fragment (preserving P³- M²) from the Sangiran site of Bapang. The find spot lies at the base of the Bapang Formation type section in cemented gravelly sands traditionally called the Grenzbank Zone. Two meters above the find spot, pumice hornblende has produced an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 1.51 ± 0.08 Ma. With the addition of Bpg 2001.04, Sangiran now has five H. erectus maxillae. We compare the new maxilla with homologs representing Sangiran H. erectus, Zhoukoudian H. erectus, Western H. erectus (pooled African and Georgian specimens), and Homo habilis. Greatest contrast is with the Zhoukoudian maxillae, which appear to exhibit a derived pattern of premolar-molar relationships compared to Western and Sangiran H. erectus. The dental patterns suggest distinct demic origins for the earlier H. erectus populations represented at Sangiran and the later population represented at Zhoukoudian. These two east Asian populations, separated by 5000 km and nearly 800 k.yr., may have had separate origins from different African/west Eurasian populations.     

中国直立人形态特征的变异——颅骨测量数据的统计分析

近年,亚洲直立人化石特征的变异及其意义引起了学术界较多的关注。不断有学者提出周口店直立人无论在非测量性特征,还是在测量特征方面都具有不同于印度尼西亚及非洲直立人的表现特点,有人甚至对将周口店直立人化石特征作为直立人的典型特征的观点提出了置疑。为进一步探讨这些有争议的问题,本文采用多变量统计分析方法对33件非洲和欧亚地区直立人颅骨测量数据进行了分析。我们发现亚洲大陆的周口店和南京直立人与生活在东南亚群岛的印度尼西亚直立人具有不同的颅骨测量特征。中国标本以较窄的前额部和枕部,以及宽阔的颅骨中部为特点。而印度尼西亚标本的额部和枕部的宽度与颅骨中部的宽度相对较为接近。非洲直立人在这些颅骨测量特征的表现上与印度尼西亚直立人接近,呈现出相对宽阔的额部和枕部。中国的和县直立人在颅骨测量特征的表现上与印度尼西亚和非洲直立人接近,而与周口店和南京直立人明显不同。基于这些发现,本文就直立人头骨测量特征的稳定性、周口店直立人颅骨特征的表现特点、东亚直立人的地区变异与时代变化、头骨形态与测量特征的对应性等问题进行了讨论。     

A comparison of the nariokotome Homo erectus with juveniles from a modern human population.

The Nariokotome Homo erectus has an apparent disjunction of inferred age as judged by dental maturity, by epiphyseal closure and by stature, when compared to modern human norms. On this basis, it has been suggested that this fossil hominin differed in its pattern of growth and development from modern humans. In particular, the characteristic human adolescent growth spurt may not yet have been present, and in this sense H. erectus growth would be more ape-like than human-like. This study tests this conclusion by examining the variation in age as inferred from the maturity indicators in a modern human skeletal population of known age. The results show that all of the maturity indicators used in this analysis underage the test skeletons. Furthermore, there is also no consistency between the indicators; they do not agree in their inferred chronological ages. The disjunction between the maturity indicators in the test skeletons is similar in pattern to the disjunction observed in the Nariokotome Homo erectus. This is particularly true of the relationship between dental age and the other two indicators. These results suggest that the pattern observed in Nariokotome is within the normal range of variation found in modern humans. It does not necessarily indicate a different pattern of growth and development.     

陕西公王岭蓝田直立人内耳迷路的复原及形态特点

1964年在陕西公王岭发现的蓝田人头骨的形态比周口店直立人和印度尼西亚爪哇直立人原始,其厚重的骨壁及较小的脑量,落入了早期人属成员的变异范围。最新测年结果将蓝田人的生存年代从原先普遍接受的距今115万年提早到大约163万年前,接近能人和南方古猿生存年代变异范围的下限,蓝田人是迄今为止我国发现的有确定年代数据的最早的古人类化石。本文采用高分辨率CT技术对蓝田人的颞骨岩部进行了扫描,对骨性内耳迷路进行了3D虚拟复原,通过与和县直立人、欧洲古老型智人、早期人属成员、南方古猿非洲种、粗壮傍人和现代人内耳迷路的21项测量项目的对比和分析,结果显示蓝田人内耳迷路的测量数据与南方古猿非洲种最接近,其次为现代人和欧洲古老型智人,而与早期人属成员和粗壮傍人相差较大。主成分分析结果显示,蓝田人内耳迷路与早期人属成员、欧洲古老型智人、南方古猿非洲种及现代人都有重叠区域,距离最近的是南方古猿非洲种Sts 5,其次为和县直立人和南方古猿非洲种Sts 19,而与粗壮傍人距离较远。本文研究提供了中更新世中国古人类内耳迷路的形态数据,为进一步探讨蓝田人体质特征演化上的意义提供了参考资料。     

印度纳尔玛达地区发现的粗壮智人化石及其与亚洲直立人的连续性

1999年,在印度西部的纳尔玛达(Narmada)河的一条支流——奥尔桑(Orsang)河谷发现了一具孤立的智人头骨,这对于了解印度人类进化历史和南亚直立人与最古老的亚洲智人(或AMH,解剖学上现代的人)之间的联系有着重要的意义。化石是在古老的河流沉积物中发现的。对主体沉积和颅内沉积物的红外光释光(IRSL)测年结果显示,其年代为3—5万年。然而,对化石的直接测年(放射性碳加速器质谱测年AMS)结果表明,其年代最小为4981—5579年前。头骨被归类为圆颅型智人。头骨上最引人注意的特征是颅外有亚洲直立人头后部很发达的角圆枕。头骨最宽处在下部(颞骨)如直立人,这样的情况从来不见于智人。这可能是由于乳突的气窦化而形成的。乳突上脊发育,从破损的眉间区(20mm)可以看到很宽的额窦。所有这些粗壮的特征都表明Orsang头骨和晚期亚洲直立人之间具有遗传连续性。     

A new brain endocast of Homo erectus from Hulu Cave, Nanjing, China

A new brain endocast of Homo erectus from Hulu Cave, Tangshan, Nanjing is described and compared with a broad sample of endocasts of H. erectus, Neanderthals, and recent modern humans. The Nanjing 1 endocast is reconstructed based on two portions of endocranial casts taken from the original fossil fragments. The fossil was discovered in 1993, near Nanjing, South China and is dated to ～ 0.58-0.62 Ma. The cranial capacity is ～ 876 cc, as determined by endocast water displacement. There are some common features of Nanjing 1 and other H. erectus endocasts that differentiate them from the Neanderthals and modern humans in our sample. These include small cranial capacity, low height dimensions, simple middle meningeal vessel patterns, a high degree of cerebral-over-cerebellar lobe overhang, elongated and quite separated cerebellar lobes, and a narrow, low, short and flat frontal region. Some features are found to vary among H. erectus, Neanderthals and modern humans, such as the lateral Sylvian fissure position and the venous sinus and petalial patterns. The Nanjing 1 endocast has unique, large, superior frontal convolutions, and strongly protruding Broca's caps. In contrast to other Chinese H. erectus from Hexian and Zhoukoudian, Nanjing 1 lacks strong posterior projection of the occipital lobes. Bivariate and principal component analyses indicate that the small volume and shape of Nanjing 1 is most similar to KNM-WT 15000, KNM-ER 3883, Sangiran 2 and Hexian, illustrating the combination of narrow, low, and short frontal lobes with wide posterior lobes.     

南京直立人与印尼、周口店直立人的面颅形态比较

本文对南京直立人1号头骨与印尼Sangiran17头骨和周口店11号头骨作面颅形态上的比较。结果表明,南京1号头骨的面颅与周口店11号头骨的有许多共同的形态:较小的面颅尺寸、眶下区呈扁平状、较扁平的上部颜面、眶上圆枕较纤细、中眶型的眼眶、发育有颧切迹、上颌骨颧突基部位置较高等。南京1号头骨的面颅在另外一些方面显示出与Sangiran17头骨的形态上相近:阔上面型的面型、眶上圆枕内侧部比外侧部稍靠前、眶上圆枕下缘略呈平直状、鼻梁发育有中矢锐嵴、鼻梁横向呈峰状拱起、颧骨下缘外展、颧结节相对位置稍偏外侧、颧骨较高等。南京直立人面颅兼具周口店直立人11号头骨的和印尼直立人Sangiran17头骨的形态。从南京直立人的面颅形态可以推测我国南方的与北方的直立人群之间在体质形态上已经出现一定程度的地理变异。南京1号头骨面颅上的某些形态特征,如颧骨下缘外展等,可能反映了特征的梯度变异现象。这些特征的梯度变异的成因目前还很难确定。     

Cranial remains of Homo erectus from Beds II and IV,Olduvai Gorge,Tanzania

Cranial remains of hominids 9 and 12 from Olduvai Gorge are described in detail. O.H. 9 consists of a heavily built braincase, partly damaged and lacking the face, while O.H. 12 is less complete. The Bed II specimen is about 1.2 million years in age and shows anatomical similarities to the cranium designated ER-3733 from Koobi Fora, east of Lake Turkana. Together these African fossils provide valuable information about Homo erectus in the later Lower Pleistocene. Comparisons of O.H. 9 with several of the Choukoutien crania are also carried out. These Chinese and other Asian remains of Homo erectus cannot be placed in a secure chronological framework, but all of the material should be studied systematically in order to assess relatedness among what must be several different populations.     

Functional and morphological affinities of the subadult hand (O.H. 7) from Olduvai Gorge.

Study of the O.H. 7 hand was based primarily on morphological comparisons with a large series of hand skeletons of extant hominoid primates. Most of the hand elements are fragmentary or have missing epiphyses and only comparisons based on qualitative morphological observations are possible. The distal phalanges are complete, however, and were analyzed metrically utilizing univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. To compensate for size differences among the Hominoidea a number of size adjustments were employed. None of the adjustments were totally satisfactory from theoretical and practical standpoints and none completely eliminated the influence of size. There is no entirely satisfactory procedure to eliminate size and it is advisable to use several techniques that are not closely related, to compare the results and interpret them with caution. In certain features the wrist and fingers resemble those of African apes; in others they are more like modern human hands; in still others they are unique. The scaphoid and the proximal articular surface of the trapezium retain ape-like features, as do the proximal and middle phalanges. The pollical carpometacarpal joint and the distal phalanges are closer in morphology to those of modern humans. The scaphoid, proximal phalanges and middle phalanges of rays II-V indicate a hand capable of a strong power grip. A number of features of the thumb and the distal phalanges suggest that the O.H. 7 individual was capable of more precise manipulation that extant apes. FLK NN-A, a first distal phalanx, does not closely resemble the first distal phalanx of any of the living Hominoidea. Multivariate distance analysis indicates, however, that it is closest in overall morphology to the pollical distal phalanx of modern humans. In some features not included in the metric analysis, FLK NN-A also resembles the hallucial distal phalanx of modern humans.     

Cryptosporidium hominis n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiidae) from Homo sapiens

The structure and infectivity of the oocysts of a new species of Cryptosporidium from the feces of humans are described. Oocysts are structurally indistinguishable from those of Cryptosporidium parvum. Oocysts of the new species are passed fully sporulated, lack sporocysts. and measure 4.4-5.4 microm (mean = 4.86) x 4.4-5.9 microm (mean = 5.2 microm) with a length to width ratio 1.0-1.09 (mean 1.07) (n = 100). Oocysts were not infectious for ARC Swiss mice, nude mice. Wistar rat pups, puppies, kittens or calves, but were infectious to neonatal gnotobiotic pigs. Pathogenicity studies in the gnotobiotic pig model revealed significant differences in parasite-associated lesion distribution (P = 0.005 to P = 0.02) and intensity of infection (P = 0.04) between C. parvum and this newly described species from humans. In vitro cultivation studies have also revealed growth differences between the two species. Multi-locus analysis of numerous unlinked loci, including a preliminary sequence scan of the entire genome demonstrated this species to be distinct from C. parvum and also demonstrated a lack of recombination, providing further support for its species status. Based on biological and molecular data, this Cryptosporidium infecting the intestine of humans is proposed to be a new species Cryptosporidium hominis n. sp.