Le mammouth dans l’art paléolithique

The mammoth, an emblematic animal of the Prehistory, possesses an important place in the depictions made by prehistoric artists, both in parietal art (cave art) and in mobile art. Its image is known from the Aurignacian, at the beginning of the Upper Palaeolithic, until the end of the Last Ice Age, the Magdalenian. However, its geographical and chronological distribution is dissimilar. Mammoth depictions are generally more frequent during the Aurignacian where this animal is found engraved and painted in the Chauvet cave for example and carved from ivory in several cave sites of the Swabian Jura. The Magdalenian cave of Rouffignac and its 160 representations constitute a notable exception. From a formal point of view, the representations of mammoth are elaborated in a rather constant way, like the characteristic cephalic contour and the typical back of the animal, at least as it could be seen in nature. The representations are often even limited to a cursive line with a double curvature that expresses the pachyderm. On the other hand some drawings show intimate details. Sometimes the tusks of the mammoths are not indicated, but certain stylistic features, such as the ventral arch, are relatively reliable chronological markers. Finally, one cannot ignore the ethological or seasonal expressions that sometimes link the mammoths to each other, in a row or in confrontation. This animal obviously inspired the artists of the prehistory who created various portraits of the mammoth.     

陕西洛南龙牙洞小哺乳动物化石新材料

描述了1995~1997年东秦岭山地洛南盆地龙牙南洞洞穴遗址中发掘出土的小哺乳动物化石,包括甘肃鼹Scapanulus oweni,峨眉鼩鼹Nasillus andersoni,鼩鼹(属种未定)Uropsilinae gen.et sp.indet.,长尾鼩鼱Soriculus sp.,似高山鼠兔Ochotona cf.O.alpina,偏皮氏毛耳飞鼠Belomys parapearsoni,艾克氏异仓鼠Allocricetus ehiki,沟牙田鼠Proedromys bedfordi,欧洲异费鼠Allophaiomys deucalion,始鼢鼠Eospalax sp.,先社鼠Niviventer preconfucianus,亚洲姬鼠Apodemus asianicus,姬鼠Apodemus sp.,马来豪猪(华南亚种)Hystrix brachyura subcristata,居氏大河狸Trogontherium cuvieri等。该动物群同时包括南方型和北方型动物,其动物组合具有明显的南北过渡地带的特征。其中峨眉鼩鼹和似高山鼠兔为新发现的化石种。新发现的小哺乳动物化石组合类似于龙牙北洞,显示出比较古老的性质,时代上多为早更新世晚期或中更新世早期,但龙牙南洞遗址含化石地层对应的热释光(TL)年龄结果分别为(356.6±17.8)ka BP,(273.9±13.7)ka BP和(210.5±10.5)ka BP,最近新的回授光释光(TT-OSL)测年数据进一步验证了热释光测年结果,获得的地层年代亦为距今40~20万年左右。     

与南京汤山直立人伴生的偶蹄类及其古环境浅析

在汤山葫芦洞大洞发现的偶蹄类化石共有 4个科、 5个属种 ,其中化石毛冠鹿为首次在华东地区发现。除德氏水牛相似种以外 ,其它属种与周口店第 1地点的标本相比具有个体较大(如李氏野猪、葛氏斑鹿和肿骨鹿 )或形态较进步 (如李氏野猪、似德氏水牛 )。这些动物所反映的古环境为植被丰富 ,并以阔叶乔木和灌木为主 ,间有局部开阔草地。当时的年平均气温与现在相似 ,但冬季偏冷。     

颜面扁平度的变异和山顶洞人类化石的颜面扁平度

扁平的颜面这一蒙古人种的颅骨特征可上溯到直立人时代。在新石器时代,颜面扁平度总的来看华北地区的要比华南的稍大些,但这种南北差别并无严格的地理界线;在现代,这种地理上的差别更不明显。山顶洞人类头骨化石的过小的颜面扁平度很可能是受外来“基因流”的影响的结果。     

广西扶绥岩亮洞早更新世独角犀年龄结构的分析

岩亮洞是广西扶绥地区最近新发现的早更新世巨猿化石点,经过初步发掘,采集到了丰富的巨猿材料及大量伴生的哺乳动物化石。引人注目的是其中犀类化石居多,包括146颗完整的牙齿及十多件头后骨骼化石,从形态特征判断,这些犀类化石应属于独角犀的一新种Rhinoceros fusuiensis。岩亮洞巨猿动物群中的独角犀以种群丰度最大而不同于其他已知东亚地区的巨猿动物群中的独角犀类材料。本文从犀类牙齿的主尖釉质层、齿质暴露程度、咀嚼面的磨蚀程度等方面对岩亮洞独角犀的年龄结构进行了研究。该死亡群中至少有4头幼年个体、5头青年个体、5头成年个体和1头老年个体。依据牙齿磨蚀程度和牙齿萌出顺序对年龄结构的分析及统计显示,其中青年个体和成年个体最多,幼年个体次之,老年个体最少,其死亡的原因不是通常意义上磨耗型死亡,突发性的灾害可能是造成这种死亡年龄分布的主要原因。     

Sperm production in an extremophile fish,the cave molly (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecilia mexicana</Emphasis>, Poeciliidae,Teleostei)

A prominent trade-off in life history theory and evolution balances the costs of reproduction with those of basic somatic needs. Hence, reproductive efforts may be reduced in environments where additional energy is required for somatic maintenance. Here, we investigated male sperm stores in Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana) from a sulfidic cave and several sulfidic and non-sulfidic surface habitats. We found significant differences among populations in the number of sperm stripped per male, which was also correlated with differences in gonad weights. The largest sperm stores were detected in males from non-sulfidic surface creeks, while males from a partially sulfidic surface system had lower sperm counts, and males from completely sulfidic systems, surface as well as subterranean, had even fewer available sperm. We conclude that the extreme environmental conditions in sulfidic habitats appear to constrain male sperm production, since hydrogen sulfide as a naturally occurring toxin requires energy-demanding adaptations. Furthermore, we examined sperm counts of lab-reared cave and surface mollies in response to energy limitation. Males from stock populations were placed under high and low food treatments for a 2-week period and then stripped of sperm. Sperm counts of surface mollies tended to be reduced by low food availability, whereas sperm counts of cave mollies did not significantly vary between food treatments, which likely points towards a higher starvation resistance in cave mollies.     

湖北郧西白龙洞古人类遗址初步研究

湖北省郧西县白龙洞遗址经过两次正式发掘,出土了古人类牙齿化石、石制品、骨制品等文化遗物和大量动物化石,是一处重要的古人类遗址.2007年4-5月,作者在该遗址周围进行了地质、地貌调查,并对以往发掘出土的部分动物化石和文化遗物进行了整理.同年9月,作者在白龙洞进行探察和小规模试掘,出土大量动物化石和少量石制品、骨制品等文化遗物.同时还发现可疑燃烧痕迹、动物骨骼表面痕迹以及特殊的动物化石埋藏现象等古人类活动证据.白龙洞发育于上新世沙坪组砾岩、泥晶灰岩和泥灰岩地层中,近水平状节理和裂隙为洞穴发育提供前提条件,垂直渗流为溶蚀的主要方式.白龙洞遗址属原地埋藏,动物群的组合显示中更新世早期的面貌,石英岩岩脉原料可能是导致石器工业组合显示北方石器工业面貌的原因.对遗址分布及埋藏现象的初步分析显示,白龙洞为一处多功能的古人类活动遗址.     

广西柳城巨猿洞早更新世爪兽化石(奇蹄目,哺乳动物纲)

广西柳城巨猿洞是迄今我国所发现的含爪兽化石最丰富的第四纪化石点。该化石点的爪兽上颊齿原尖强壮,呈圆锥状;次尖发育,呈新月形;原脊完全退失;m3齿带更发育;可归入我国第四纪较常见的中国黄昏爪兽(Hesperotherium sinense)。但柳城巨猿洞的标本明显比我国其他第四纪地点的爪兽较小,尤其是比早更新世晚期的代表小很多。在形态特征方面,柳城巨猿洞的爪兽与重庆巫山的最为接近,而与安徽繁昌及湖北建始的差异较大;但在牙齿的宽／长比值方面,却与安徽繁昌的最为接近。我国已发现的爪兽化石以单个牙齿为主,在分类鉴定方面存在诸多问题,通过牙齿测量的点散布图,可以有效地检验对零散爪兽牙齿齿序的鉴别是否正确。