湖北郧西黄龙洞更新世晚期人类牙齿

对2004—2006年在湖北省郧西县黄龙洞发现的7枚更新世晚期人类牙齿进行了观测与分析, 在此基础上与相关的化石人类及近代现代人类标本进行了对比。本研究发现:黄龙洞人类牙齿总体特征与现代人接近, 同时也保留部分可能属于更新世晚期人类的特点, 包括前部牙齿(侧门齿与犬齿)尺寸及粗壮程度都明显大于现代人。黄龙洞人类牙齿呈现的铲形门齿、双铲形门齿及臼齿釉质延伸说明,当时人类已经具有了东亚人群的典型牙齿形态特征。     

Late Pleistocene human remains from Wezmeh Cave, western Iran

Paleontological analysis of remains from Wezmeh Cave in western Iran have yielded a Holocene Chalcolithic archeological assemblage, a rich Late Pleistocene carnivore faunal assemblage, and an isolated unerupted human maxillary premolar (P(3) or possibly P(4)). Species representation and U-series dating of faunal teeth place the carnivore assemblage during oxygen isotope stages (OIS) 3 and 2, and noninvasive gamma spectrometry dating of the human premolar places it at least as old as early OIS 2. The human premolar crown morphology is not diagnostic of late archaic versus early modern human affinities, but its buccolingual diameter places it at the upper limits of Late Pleistocene human P(3) and P(4) dimensions and separate from a terminal Pleistocene regional sample. Wezmeh Cave therefore provides additional Paleolithic human remains from the Zagros Mountains and further documents Late Pleistocene human association with otherwise carnivore-dominated cave assemblages.     

辽宁朝阳马山洞的食肉类化石

本文主要记述了辽宁省朝阳市龙城区马山洞发现的食肉类化石。堆积物的上部主要为颗粒细小的砂质黏土, 而下部主要为直径较大的角砾。2007年出土的食肉目化石有: 似浣熊貉(Nyctereutes procyonoides)、赤狐(Vulpes vulpes)、狗獾(Meles meles)、黄鼬(Mustela sibirica)、中华猫(Felis chinensis)和疑似虎(Panthera tigris)?。其中前5个种在形态上与现生种类非常接近; 而最后一个种除与现生虎比较接近外, 与现生狮子也有一定的相似性。     

A morphometric analysis of maxillary molar crowns of Middle-Late Pleistocene hominins

This study explores the significance of shape differences in the maxillary first molar crowns of Neandertals and anatomically modern humans. It uses morphometric analysis to quantify these differences and to investigate how the orientation of major cusps, relative cusp base areas and occlusal polygon area influence crown shape. The aims of this study were to 1) quantify these data to test whether the tooth shapes of Neandertals and anatomically modern humans differ significantly and 2) to explore if either of the shapes is derived relative to earlier fossil hominins. Data were collected from digital occlusal photographs using image-processing software. Cusp angles, relative cusp base areas and occlusal polygon areas were measured on Neandertals (n=15), contemporary modern humans (n=62), Upper Paleolithic humans (n=6), early anatomically modern humans (n=3) and Homo erectus (n=3). Univariate and multivariate statistical tests were used to evaluate the differences between contemporary modern humans and Neandertals, while the much sparser data sets from the other fossil samples were included primarily for comparison. Statistically significant differences reflecting overall crown shape and internal placement of the crown apices were found. Neandertals are distinguished from contemporary humans by possessing maxillary first molars that 1) are markedly skewed; 2) possess a narrower distal segment of the occlusal polygon compared to the mesial segment; 3) possess a significantly smaller metacone and a significantly larger hypocone; and 4) possess a significantly smaller relative occlusal polygon area reflecting internally placed cusps. Differences in relative cusp base areas of the hypocone and metacone may contribute to the shape differences observed in Neandertals. However, early anatomically modern humans possessing a pattern of relative cusp base areas similar to Neandertals lack their unusual shape. That the morphology observed in non-Neandertal fossil hominins is more anatomically modern human-like than Neandertal-like, suggests that this distinctive morphology may be derived in Neandertals.     

Late Pleistocene human evolution in Sicily: comparative morphometric analysis of Grotta di San Teodoro craniofacial remains

The paleoanthropological remains from Grotta di San Teodoro near Acquedolci (province of Messina, Italy) represent the oldest and largest skeletal collection yet found documenting human settlement of Sicily. The sample, attributed to the Late Epigravettian (between 14,000 and 10,000 years B.P.), consists of seven variously complete adult individuals (San Teodoro 1–7). We compare the cranial sample to an array of both prehistoric and recent samples using multivariate techniques including D² distance analysis, canonical variate analysis, cluster analysis, and multidimensional scaling. Overall, the San Teodoro cranial sample displays a morphometric pattern close to Western European groups of similar antiquity, in particular those from Central and Southern Italy. The morphometric affinities indicate that these people probably came from peninsular Italy by sea during the Late Epigravettian epoch. An alternative hypothesis is that they descended from immigrants that arrived by land during a low sea level episode corresponding to the maximum Würmian regression, about 18,000 years B.P, with gene flow accounting for the morphological homogeneity with the populations of peninsular Italy. The San Teodoro skeletal sample provides the first reliable evidence for human settlement of Sicily.     

湖北郧西黄龙洞更新世晚期人类牙齿磨耗与使用痕迹

对2004—2006年在黄龙洞发现的7枚人类牙齿磨耗与使用痕迹的观察显示: 除具有正常牙齿相互接触造成的磨耗外, 黄龙洞人类牙齿还呈现出一些特殊的使用痕迹, 包括明显的前部牙齿釉质破损与崩裂、上颌侧门齿齿冠唇面釉质破损、上颌前部牙齿齿间邻接面沟等。根据这些牙齿使用痕迹集中在前部牙齿, 釉质破损与崩裂主要分布在靠近切缘的上颌门齿唇面及下颌门齿舌面的情况, 推测生活在黄龙洞的更新世晚期人类经常使用前部牙齿从事啃咬、叼衔、或剥离等动作, 并可能将前部牙齿作为工具使用。分布在前部牙齿的齿间邻接面沟提示当时人类经常从事剔牙活动。黄龙洞人类前部牙齿的使用痕迹与当时人类获取、处理及食用附着在骨骼上的筋或肉的动作密切相关, 当时人类的食物构成中可能包含有较多的肉类及粗纤维植物。     

A Late Pleistocene human genome from Southwest China

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Human molars from later Pleistocene deposits of Witkrans Cave,Gaap Escarpment,Kalahari Margin

Human molars from travertine deposits of Witkrans Cave (Gaap Escarpment, northern Cape Province, South Africa) are described. The Witkrans molars were discovered in direct association with later Pleistocene faunal remains and a sample of Middle Stone Age artifacts (Peabody, 1954; Clark, 1971; Sampson, 1974; Klein, 1984; Volman, 1984). The morphology and dimensions of the Witkrans molars resemble remains from other localities of similar age in southern Africa (Singer & Wymer, 1982; Grine & Klein, 1985; Grine et al., 1991; Rightmire & Deacon 1991) but exhibit differences from later Pleistocene occurrences in northern Africa (McBurney et al. 1953; Vallois & Roche, 1958; Ennouchi, 1969; Hublin & Tillier, 1981). These results offer further support for the existence of later Pleistocene human populations south of the Sahara which were distinct from contemporaneous peoples of Mediterranean Africa (Howell, 1978; Brauer, 1984; Rightmire, 1984; Klein 1992).     

Holocene and Late Pleistocene climate in the sub-Mediterranean continental environment: A speleothem record from Poleva Cave (Southern Carpathians,Romania)

The PP10 stalagmite from Poleva Cave provides a Late Pleistocene and Holocene isotopic record characteristic for the SW of Romania, a sub-Mediterranean climatic region. The speleothem was dated by eight TIMS and one alpha U-series dates which showed that it was precipitated between ∼ 75 ka and ∼ 2 ka with at least two hiatuses. The basal sector of the stalagmite showed a slow-growing regime of ∼ 0.26 cm/ka, while the upper one grew relatively fast with about 5 cm/ka. The temporal resolution for the isotopic sampling is thus ∼ 2 ka/sample for the lower sector, and ∼ 150 years/sample for the upper one. The relationship between δ¹⁸O and temperature was found positive. The isotopic record of the lower sector shows two marked cold intervals during ∼ 67 and 58 ka and ∼ 40–35 ka, respectively, which correlate well with the Villars and Soreq records. The upper sector record is so far the most detailed Holocene isotopic record in Romania and the only one available for the regions located at the exterior of the Carpathians Range. The signal shows a gradual warming after the GS1 event punctuated by several cold events at ∼ 8, 7.2 and 4.2 ka and also by warm oscillations centered at about 5.2 and 3.3 ka. The results seem to indicate that if the North-Atlantic first-order signals may extend well to the south-eastern Europe, their amplitude and general trend may be diminished by the interferences with the Mediterranean circulation.     

A Human Skeleton from an Apache Baking Pit

Abstract

A human skeleton found in an Apache baking pit in Scott County, Kansas, is that of a 22 or 23 year old male, about 5 feet, 7 inches tall. It is probable that he was a Cuartelejo Apache of ca. 1700.     

Vegetation reconstruction on the basis of pollen in Late Pleistocene hyena coprolites from San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy)

Vegetation reconstruction based on pollen from coprolites of extinct spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta spelaea, Goldfuss 1832) recovered from excavations carried out in 1998 at San Teodoro Cave (Sicily, Italy) supports previous indications of pre-Late Glacial conditions. Eight of the twelve coprolites analysed contained well-preserved pollen grains. There is a general similarity between the pollen contents from the coprolites but they show variability. They suggest a main vegetation type dominated by steppic taxa (Poaceae, Artemisia, Ephedra, Chenopodiaceae and Asteraceae) but also including arboreal taxa (Pinus and Cupressaceae). Low percentages of pollen of mesophilous woody taxa (Quercus, Betula, Abies, Alnus, Pistacia, among others) are noticeable, suggesting the existence of nearby refugia for temperate and Mediterranean vegetation. A reconstruction of the landscape, using the coprolite pollen record and other pollen records from Sicily and south Italy, shows the predominance, during the pre-Late Glacial, of a wooded steppe biome, with elements representing a variety of local environmental conditions.     

山顶洞人与现代华北人头骨非测量性特征比较及中国更新世晚期人类演化的一些问题

山顶洞人化石是迄今在东亚地区发现的数量最为丰富、保存状态最为完好的更新世晚期人类化石。多年来,山顶洞人作为东亚地区更新世晚期人类的代表,在研究东亚地区现代蒙古人种及美洲印第安人起源方面发挥着重要作用。随着对现代人起源与演化研究的深入,学术界对更新世晚期人类演化及现代人群形成过程的许多细节及演化机制予以了越来越多的注意,提出了现代人群出现时间及现代人群分化时间的概念。一些研究对山顶洞人的演化程度及其在东亚地区现代人群形成上的作用也提出了不同看法。为了深入探讨这些问题,本文对12项颅骨非测量特征在山顶洞人与现代中国人的表现情况进行了对比研究。发现有8项特征在山顶洞人与现代中国人之间具有不同的表现,作者认为山顶洞人在颅骨特征表现上较现代中国人具有更多的原始性。在此基础上,作者就更新世晚期人群内部变异、现代人群特征标准等问题进行了讨论。     

Modeling Human Ecodynamics and Biocultural Interactions in the Late Pleistocene of Western Eurasia

Given the complex and multidimensional nature of human evolution, we need to develop theoretical and methodological frameworks to account for and model the dynamic feedbacks between co-operational biological and cultural evolutionary systems to better understand the processes that produced modern human behavior. Equally important is the generation of explicit theory-based models that can be tested against the empirical paleoanthropological record. We present a case study that examines evidence for culturally-driven behavioral change among Late Pleistocene hominins that altered the social niche occupied by hominins in western Eurasia, with consequences for subsequent biological and cultural evolution. We draw on a large sample of 167 Pleistocene assemblages across western Eurasia and employ mathematical and computational modeling to explore the feedbacks between cultural and biological inheritance. Shifts in land-use strategies changed the opportunities for social and biological interaction among Late Pleistocene hominins in western Eurasia with a cascade of consequences for cultural and biological evolution, including the disappearance of Neanderthals from the fossil and archaeological records, and the acceleration of cultural evolution among ancestors of modern humans.     

Large Carnivore Footprints from the Late Pleistocene of Argentina

The aim of the present contribution is to describe large felipedid footprints from a new ichnological site from the Late Pleistocene of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. The prints are referred as the new ichnospecies Felipeda miramarensis nov. ichnosp. Based on size and morphology, this new ichnotaxon may have been produced by the large machairodontine felid Smilodon populator. Track analysis indicates that the producer of the tracks had fully retractile claws, a plantigrade feet, and lacked strong supination capabilities on pes and manus. The size and depth differences between manus and pes prints indicate that the producer had notably robust anterior limbs. If correctly assigned, the new ichnospecies reinforces the idea that Smilodon was an ambush predatory mammal.     

Human social organization during the Late Pleistocene: Beyond the nomadic-egalitarian model

Many researchers assume that until 10–12,000 years ago, humans lived in small, mobile, relatively egalitarian bands. This “nomadic-egalitarian model” suffuses the social sciences. It informs evolutionary explanations of behavior and our understanding of how contemporary societies differ from those of our evolutionary past. Here, we synthesize research challenging this model and articulate an alternative, the diverse histories model, to replace it. We review the limitations of using recent foragers as models of Late Pleistocene societies and the considerable social variation among foragers commonly considered small-scale, mobile, and egalitarian. We review ethnographic and archaeological findings covering 34 world regions showing that non-agricultural peoples often live in groups that are more sedentary, unequal, large, politically stratified, and capable of large-scale cooperation and resource management than is normally assumed. These characteristics are not restricted to extant Holocene hunter-gatherers but, as suggested by archaeological findings from 27 Middle Stone Age sites, likely characterized societies throughout the Late Pleistocene (until c. 130 ka), if not earlier. These findings have implications for how we understand human psychological adaptations and the broad trajectory of human history.     

Genetic admixture in the Late Pleistocene

The replacement hypothesis of modern human origins holds that the original population of modern humans expanded throughout the world, replacing existing archaic populations as it went. If this expanding population interbred with the peoples it replaced, then some archaic mitochondria might have been introduced into the early modern gene pool. Such mitochondria would be recognizable today because they should differ from other modern mitochondria at several times the number of sites that we are used to seeing in pairwise comparisons. In this paper we ask what can be inferred from the absence of these “divergent” mitochondria from modern samples. We show that if the effective number of females in our species has been large for the past 40,000 years, then the level of admixture must have been low. For example, if this effective number exceeded 1.6 million, then we can reject the hypothesis that more more than 2/1,000 of the mitochondria in the early modern population derived from admixture with archaic peoples. We argue elsewhere that regional continuity would be detectable in the fossil record only if the rate of admixture exceeded 76%. Here, we show that this level of admixture would require the effective female size of the human population to have been less than 1,777 for the past 40,000 years. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

A Hominin Femur with Archaic Affinities from the Late Pleistocene of Southwest China

The number of Late Pleistocene hominin species and the timing of their extinction are issues receiving renewed attention following genomic evidence for interbreeding between the ancestors of some living humans and archaic taxa. Yet, major gaps in the fossil record and uncertainties surrounding the age of key fossils have meant that these questions remain poorly understood. Here we describe and compare a highly unusual femur from Late Pleistocene sediments at Maludong (Yunnan), Southwest China, recovered along with cranial remains that exhibit a mixture of anatomically modern human and archaic traits. Our studies show that the Maludong femur has affinities to archaic hominins, especially Lower Pleistocene femora. However, the scarcity of later Middle and Late Pleistocene archaic remains in East Asia makes an assessment of systematically relevant character states difficult, warranting caution in assigning the specimen to a species at this time. The Maludong fossil probably samples an archaic population that survived until around 14,000 years ago in the biogeographically complex region of Southwest China.