湖北郧西白龙洞中更新世古人类遗址的哺乳动物化石

白龙洞是位于鄂西北部郧西县的一处出土物丰富的古人类洞穴遗址,先后在此出土了8枚古人类牙齿化石、若干石制品和骨制品及大量哺乳动物化石。但有关白龙洞遗址的形成时间却一直存在争议,主要原因之一是动物群没有得到充分研究。基于郧西县文管所和中科院古脊椎所收藏标本,本文首次对白龙洞历年出土的哺乳动物化石进行了综合研究;研究结果表明,白龙洞动物群由32种（含未定种）哺乳动物组成,优势属种是谷氏大额牛、岩羊、野猪及各种鹿类(水鹿、斑鹿、麂、毛冠鹿);此外,还有豪猪、竹鼠、变异狼、貉、豺、猪獾、黑熊、大熊猫、中国硕鬣狗、锯齿剑齿虎、虎、豹、金猫、云豹、剑齿象、苏门犀、梅氏犀、巨貘、鬣羚及水牛等;该动物群缺乏猴类动物,并且豪猪化石也很少,这与其所处的时空位置很不相符;但总体面貌属于大熊猫-剑齿象动物群。白龙洞的大熊猫、中国硕鬣狗、猪獾、虎及巨貘的牙齿测量数值均达到或接近我国各自记录的最大值。白龙洞动物群组成与盐井沟动物群及南京猿人动物群最为接近;从动物群组合及有关属种的演化阶段来综合判断,白龙洞动物群的地质时代应当是中更新世中期。     

泥河湾盆地早更新世山神庙咀遗址动物群及其时代意义

狭义(或经典)泥河湾动物群主要产自桑干河北岸的下沙沟村周边,化石来源于不同地点;该动物群被作为我国北方早更新世的代表,但其绝对年代一直饱受争议,最新古地磁测年数据是2.2-1.7 MaBP。由于受河流及断层切割影响,泥河湾盆地内部不同区域尤其是桑干河两岸的地层对比,一直是个科学难题,其根本原因在于长期以来在桑干河南岸未发现重要化石点。最近,在桑干河南岸的岑家湾台地发现了山神庙咀化石点,目前已在此地点做过9次正规发掘,出土哺乳动物化石1526件,鉴定出25个种(含未定种),其中23种属于狭义泥河湾动物群的成员。由此看出,山神庙咀动物群的时代应当与狭义泥河湾动物群的时代接近,其地质年代应当不晚于1.7 MaBP。山神庙咀遗址与小长梁遗址隔沟相望,但其化石层稍高于小长梁文化层;山神庙咀动物群的研究结果还表明,小长梁遗址年代要比先前所测得的1.36 MaBP要早;小长梁周边的史前遗址的地质年代应当再做深入研究。小长梁地区的泥河湾层底部普遍存在砾石层,但其出现的水平位置以及砾石在分选和磨圆程度等方面都各不相同。调查清楚不同剖面中底砾层的分布状况及其性质,将会对本地区地层对比研究以及推断当时泥河湾...     

Tracks and trackways of Myotragus balearicus Bate (Artiodactyla, Caprinae) in Pleistocene aeolianites from Mallorca (Balearic Islands, Western Mediterranean)

Tracks and trackways of the ruminant goat, Myotragus balearicus Bate, 1909 are abundant in the Late Pleistocene aeolianites of the south coast of Mallorca, Spain. The carbonate aeolianites form impressive dunes and related sand ramps that were initiated as echo dunes in front of a 20–40 m high paleocliff of Miocene reefal limestone. Where the dunes built up to the cliff top, they covered it as an aeolian ramp. The dunes and sand ramps were active during the dry summer months but were passive during the wet winter period. The small, goat-like animals were abundant on the island, and for unknown reasons crossed the aeolian accumulations in large numbers. This study deals with the tracks formed in the dune deposits. All preserved trackways indicate impression into moist sand. Special features of the tracks include the structure produced by the withdrawal of the foot, here called the ‘axis’, and a disturbance zone of plastic deformation around this. On dune crests, the disturbance zone surrounds the axis more or less symmetrically. However, in addition, a ‘pressure pad’ of dislocated, slightly rotated sediment bound by curved microfaults is commonly produced posterior to the axis by propulsive pressure of the foot. On steep stoss and lee slopes, the pressure pad becomes oriented in a down-slope position as a result of gravitational slip of the walking animal. Combination of disturbance of the sediment in this way by manus followed by overprinting of similar disturbance by pes produces highly complicated track structure. This structure may be characteristic of artiodactylous mammals in soft sand, particularly aeolian deposits. The structure is designated as Bifidipes aeolis isp. nov.     

江西萍乡上栗县晚更新世哺乳动物化石发现

2014~2015年在江西萍乡上栗县长平乡发现的杨家湾哺乳动物化石点,是江西省为数不多的更新世化石点中出土化石最为丰富多样的:目前已在杨家湾1号洞发现数千件哺乳动物牙齿化石,初步鉴定出40个属种;在化石数量上,野猪占绝对优势,其它常见种类还有鹿类、豪猪、黑熊、小型食肉类、鬣羚、水牛、犀牛及猴类等,而长鼻类及貘相对较少;在本地区同时代化石点中,猴类化石最丰富,食肉类属种也更多样。灭绝种类有巴氏大熊猫、最后斑鬣狗、德氏狸、剑齿象及巨貘等。从动物群组合来看,杨家湾1号洞与湖南道县福岩洞古人类化石点最为相似,其时代也应当属于晚更新世。     

Human temporal bone from the lower Paleolithic site of Castel di Guido, near Rome, Italy

The Castel di Guido site, with an estimated age of approximately 300,000 years, has yielded abundant animal remains, Acheulian stone and bone bifaces, and small tools. On the surface of the original deposit, turned over by agricultural activities, fragments of human remains were discovered between 1980 and 1986, including a temporal bone described here.     

Paleoreconstruction of Pleistocene environments of human habitats in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene near the Charyshskii Naves cave, Central Altai, Russia

The results of the study of the small mammal fauna from the Charyshskii Naves cave (Central Altai, Russia) in the 2003 field season are provided. The dynamics of fossil small mammals was studied and the natural habitats of the ancient man were reconstructed on this basis. Two stages of sedimentation, corresponding to the domination of different biotopes, were recognized.     

早、中更新世中国古人类年代序列与区域演化特征

我国早、中更新世古人类和旧石器遗址蕴含着丰富的早期人类活动和生存环境的背景信息,建立精确的遗址年代序列是分析古人类活动的基础。近二十年来,旧石器时代考古和测年研究为建立我国早期人类活动的年代框架提供了丰富的材料。本文分析了目前我国已发表的95个有独立测年数据的早、中更新世遗址,将其纳入黄土-古土壤年代框架,初步建立自200多万年至末次间冰期的古人类活动年代序列,根据它们的时空分布,进一步阐释了古人类在不同区域活动强度演变的时空特征。总体来看,这些遗址在泥河湾-周口店、秦岭山地、长江下游及长江流域以南(南方)四大区域呈现出聚集分布的特征;区域古人类活动强度主要表现在从早更新世的泥河湾-周口店、中更新世的秦岭山地、到中更新世晚期的长江中下游和南方区域的时空序列上。此外,仍有较多已发掘遗址缺少年代研究或存在测年问题,今后需要加强遗址的精确测年研究。     

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.     

Revision of the fossil vole assemblage (Mammalia,Rodentia, Arvicolidae) from Pleistocene deposits at Kisláng,Hungary

Abstract: The species‐rich fossil vertebrate assemblage from Pleistocene sedimentary deposits at Kisláng, Hungary, was originally described as containing eight species of arvicolids, six of which were considered new. Re‐examination of the material in the collection of the Hungarian Geological Institute, consisting of most of the previously described material, including the six name‐bearing types and also further undescribed specimens, indicates that the taxa Kislangia rex, Mimomys cf. hassiacus, Mimomys coelodus, Mimomys pusillus, Mimomys tornensis, Pitymimomys sp., Borsodia newtoni, Lagurodon arankae and Allophaiomys deucalion are present. Most of these species are compatible with Early Pleistocene age close to the boundary between the Villányian and Biharian regional stages (MQR10, MQ1, c. 1.6–2.0 Ma). However, the specimen of Mimomys cf. hassiacus is of approximately mid‐Pliocene age (MN15 c. 3.6–4.0 Ma), and one of the Pitymimomys specimens is referable to P. stenokorys, described from the earliest Pleistocene (MNR2–MNR3, MN17 c. 2.3–2.4 Ma). The assemblage is therefore interpreted as derived from at least three different geological periods and because of reworking of material is considered unusable to characterize any particular stratigraphic level. These conclusions are placed in the context of historical and current biostratigraphies.     

A genetic determination of cryptic species (Copepoda: Calanoida) and their postglacial biogeography in North America

Allozyme electrophoresis of Hesperodiaptomus arcticus (Marsh) sensu lato at subarctic Churchill, Canada revealed significant deviations from random mating in several populations, as shown by the complete absence of certain heterozygous types. A broad geographic survey of 20 enzyme loci in 1077 individuals from 27 ponds at 11 arctic and alpine sites west of Hudson Bay demonstrated that there were three genetically distinct types. Morphological analysis of genetically classified populations uncovered consistent morphological differences that had been ignored previously. These morphological characteristics were used to reclassify preserved museum and private specimens from additional sites from the entire North American distribution of H. arcticus sensu lato. A detailed study of two of the distinct types co-occurring at Churchill showed reproduction timing and habitat differences consistent with reproductive isolation. I concluded that there are three species and each have different distributions. Most regions examined must have been repopulated by dispersal from glacial refugia after deglaciation. The nominal species is apparently restricted to western arctic localities in the vicinity of the Alaskan refugium while the other two putative taxa have dispersed widely into previously glaciated regions.     

Pleistocene facies of Belize barrier and atoll reefs

The knowledge of Pleistocene reef facies of Belize, Central America, is largely limited to outcrops in the northernmost part of the country. Otherwise, Pleistocene limestone, which forms the basement of the modern barrier and atoll reefs, occurs in the subsurface and is to a major extent unstudied. Based on the study of 40 m of core from 25 rotary core holes collected on central and southern Belize barrier and on atoll reefs, five Pleistocene reef facies are distinguished in the present study. They include (1) Acropora palmata grainstone, (2) Acropora cervicornis grainstone, (3) biogenic grainstone, (4) mollusk packstone, and (5) mollusk-foram wackestone. Facies 1 and 3 occur on marginal reefs, facies 2 is found on marginal and lagoonal reefs, and facies 4 and 5 mark lagoon shoals and lagoons, respectively. Most of the facies have equivalents in the Pleistocene of the wider Caribbean and also in the modern of the study area. Diagenetic features include dissolution, caliche formation, laminated blocky low-magnesium-calcite and dogtooth spars. Age data from Pleistocene corals obtained during earlier studies are discussed, and indicate deposition during marine isotope stage 5, between 140–80 ka bp.     

Late Pleistocene freshwater fish (Cottidae) trackways from New England (USA) glacial lakes and a reinterpretation of the ichnogenus Broomichnium Kuhn

New trace fossil material from Late Pleistocene glaciolacustrine varves of the Connecticut River Valley, New England, USA represent the first evidence of freshwater sculpin in glacial Lake Hitchcock. Paleobiogeographic data constrain the timing of the last reinhabitation of freshwater cottids from a Wisconsinan glacial refugium. Freshwater sculpin were present in the area of study by ~ 13.7 ky BP, moving approximately 400 km in 5000 yr, and following the ice margin at distances as close as 35 km. The trace fossils warrant erection of a new ichnospecies, Broomichnium flirii isp. nov. Comparison of this new ichnospecies to Broomichnium permianum reveals distinct similarities, and it is possible that the Permian examples of B. permianum also were made by fish, which would reconcile a long-running controversy. Many groups of fish are demersal and make ventral body contact with the substrate and could potentially leave similar traces. Identifying new forms of trace fossils made by fish that use alternative modes of locomotion will prove useful in paleoenvironmental interpretations.     

The Casal de' Pazzi archaic parietal: comparative analysis of new fossil evidence from the late Middle Pleistocene of Rome

A fossilized fragment of human parietal bone has been recently recovered from the lowest layer of the Casal de' Pazzi fluvial deposit (stratigraphically dated at about 200–250 ky BP). The fossil presents characters-i.e., thickness, degree and development of curvature, type of endocranial vascularization-which distinguish it from the corresponding cranial regions of both Homo erectus and anatomically modern Homo sapiens. While a morphological orientation towards Neanderthal characters can be considered, the affinities of the Casal de' Pazzi parietal are primarily with other late Middle Pleistocene specimens. The authors conclude that the Casal de' Pazzi human find can be assigned to the “archaic Homo sapiens” group falling within the European pre-Neanderthal range. Its particular morphology constitutes new evidence of human evolution from the geographical area of Rome.     

Bichordites monastiriensis from the Pleistocene of southeast Jamaica

Bichordites monastiriensis Plaziat and Mahmoudi 1988, produced by burrowing spatangoid echinoids, is figured and described from shallow marine siliciclastic strata of the Pleistocene Old Pera Beds (Coastal Group) of southeast Jamaica. Its occurrence there represents only the second formal recording of this monospecific ichno‐taxon and extends its geographic range from the Mediterranean region to the Caribbean. The spatangoid species that produced this trace fossil is unknown, but, unlike examples from other areas, it is unlikely to be Echinocardium.     

The late Pleistocene cultures of South America

Important to an understanding of the first peopling of any continent is an understanding of human dispersion and adaptation and their archeological signatures. Until recently, the earliest archeological record of South America was viewed uncritically as a uniform and unilinear development involving the intrusion of North American people who brought a founding cultural heritage, the fluted Clovis stone tool technology, and a big-game hunting tradition to the southern hemisphere between 11,000 and 10,000 years ago.^1–3 Biases in the history of research and the agendas pursued in the archeology of the first Americans have played a major part in forming this perspective.^4–6 Despite enthusiastic acceptance of the Clovis model by a vast majority of archeologists, several South American specialists have rejected it.^6–11 They contend that the presence of archeological sites in Tierra del Fuego and other regions by at least 11,000 to 10,500 years ago was simply insufficient time for even the fastest migration of North Americans to reach within only a few hundred years. Despite this concern, and despite the discovery of several pre-Clovis sites in South America,^6,10–12 some specialists^2,3 keep the Clovis model alive. Proponents of the model claim that the pre-Clovis sites are unreliable due to questionable radiocarbon dates, artifacts, and stratigraphy. Solid evidence at the Monte Verde site in Chile^14–16 and other localities^6,8,10–12 now indicates that South America was discovered by humans at least 12,500 years ago. How much earlier than 12,500 years ago is still a matter of conjecture.^6,10,12,15 Some proponents prefer a long chronology of 20,000 to 45,000 years ago,⁸ while others advocate a short chronology of 15,000 to 20,000 years ago^10–12 or only 11,000 years ago.^1–3. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

湖北郧县伏龙观旧石器时代遗址调查简报

伏龙观遗址动物化石和文化遗物保存在汉水中游第四级阶地白色细砂层中。动物化石种类包括无颈鬃豪猪、爪哇豺、西藏黑熊、猪獾、果子狸、东方剑齿象、中国貘、中国犀、李氏野猪、云南水鹿、青羊、水牛等。文化遗物包括石核、石片和石器。石器组合包括手镐、砍砸器、刮削器等。遗址时代属早更新世晚期,文化面貌属长江流域的砾石石器文化传统。     

Pleistocene fragmentation of Amazon species' ranges

Historical patterns of connection and isolation of the impressive biological diversity of the Amazon Basin have been the subject of extensive debate, based on evidence drawn from distributional patterns of endemic species, vegetation histories from palynological studies, and geological studies. We develop species-specific ecological niche models based on current occurrence patterns of 17 species of birds and woody plants, which we project onto modelled Pleistocene (Last Glacial Maximum) climatic patterns to reconstruct past potential distributions of each species. Forest species' distributions showed fragmentation at Last Glacial Maximum and these fragments were coincident spatially, whereas savanna species showed no clear trends. Our results suggest that past climate changes fragmented forest species' ranges within a matrix of uncertain composition.