·174· 人类学学 CHINESE HUMAN PAL EO NTOLOG KCAL STUDY IN 20TH CENTURY AND PROSPECTS Xinzhi (Institute d vertebrate Paleon tology and Paleoan th rop ology, A caden ia S inica Beij ing 100044) Abstract I Changes of the posit ion of Ch inese fo ssils in the early history of hom in Sinan th opus pek inensis had been one of the earliest hom in ids from 1931 through 1959 In 1931 the artefacts unearthed from S inanth opus site were adm ited by B reuil, the au thority of the Paleolith ic study. In 1959, the d isco very of Z in jan th opus and associated artefacts m ade the h isto rical reco rd of m anm ade too l ex tended to 1. 75M Gig antop thecus had been suggested as the ancestor of Pithecan th opus erectus and Sinanthropus pek inen sis in 1940s by F. Weidenre ich But th is p ropo sal has not been common ly accep ted in paleoan th ropo logical circle In 1965, Smons and Pilbeam p roposed the r am ap ithecus be long ing to hom in id and five teeth of D ryp ithecus found in 1956 at Kaiyuan, Yunnan, southw estern Ch ina were included in the circle of earliest hom in id so ch ina became one of the cand idate areas of hum an cradle Since 1975 m any R am ap ithecus fossils includ ing 5 skulls and other p ieces of bone have been unearthed from L ufeng, Yunnan The mportance of Chinese fo ssils in the 2 Earliest hum an in ch ina Sinanthropus is the first one acting as rliest hum an in China In 1964 ongw angling H ono erectus skull-cap rep laced erectus pek inensis fo ssils as the earliest ancestor in China In 1965, Yuanmou incisors took this prom Yuanmou is dated by paleom agnetim as of l. Ma a new esr date of 1.6( Lu)-1. EU )Mawas published recently. By the w ay, the L onggupo m and ib le is of an ape, the p roven ience of the incisor is p roblem atic, so far this site has not y ielded any early P le istocene hom in id fossil Recent d iscovery of stone and bony artefacts of p robably 2 a from Fanchang, A nhui p rov ince is the ind irect ind icator of the ex istence of hum ans in early period in China 3 Outline of hum an evo lution in ch ina 3.1 Con sidera tion at the in tercom tinen tal level Con tin uous evolution with hy br id iza tion Totally more than 60 sites y ield ing hum an fo ssils have been found in China There are a series of common morpho log ical features show n among these fo ssils Betw een the H ano erectus and H an o sap iens fo ssils found in Ch ina there is mo sa ic of morpho logical features w hich ind icates that betw een these ch rono-sp ecies the change is transit pnal No clear-cut c1994-2006 China Academic ournal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved. htp: //w. cnkinerCH INESE HUM AN PAL EONTOLOGICAL STUDY IN 20TH CENTURY AND PROSPECTS W u Xinzhi (Institu te of V ertebrate P aleontology and P aleoanth rop ology , A cad em ia S inica B eij ing 100044) Abstract 1 Changes of the po sition of Ch inese fo ssils in the early h isto ry of hom in id Sinan th ropu s pek inen sis had been one of the earliest hom in ids from 1931 th rough 1959. In 1931 the artefacts unearthed from Sinan th ropu s site w ere adm ited by B reu il, the au tho rity of the Paleo lith ic study. In 1959, the discovery of Zin jan th ropu s and associated artefacts m ade the h isto rical reco rd of m an2m ade too l ex tended to 1175M a. G ig an top ithecus had been suggested as the ancesto r of P ithecan th ropu s erectu s and Sinan th ropu s pek inen sis in 1940s by F. W eiden reich. Bu t th is p ropo sal has no t been comm on ly accep ted in paleoan th ropo logical circle. In 1965, Sim on s and P ilbeam p ropo sed the R am ap ithecu s belonging to hom in id and five teeth of D ry op ithecus found in 1956 at Kaiyuan, Yunnan, sou thw estern Ch ina w ere included in the circle of earliest hom in id. So Ch ina becam e one of the candidate areas of hum an cradle. Since 1975 m any R am ap ithecu s fo ssils including 5 sku lls and o ther p ieces of bone have been unearthed from L ufeng, Yunnan. T he im po rtance of Ch inese fo ssils in the study of hum an o rigin increased. In 1980s, L uf engp ithecus w as excluded from the hum an circle, Ch inese fo ssils are no longer con sidered as a part of hum an earliest ancesto r. 2 Earliest hum an in Ch ina Sinan th ropu s is the first one acting as the earliest hum an in Ch ina. In 1964 Gongw angling H om o erectus sku ll2cap rep laced H om o erectus p ek inensis fo ssils as the earliest ancesto r in Ch ina. In 1965, Yuanm ou inciso rs took th is p rom inen t po sition. Yuanm ou is dated by paleom agnetism as of 117M a. A new ESR date of 116 (LU ) —111 (EU ) M a w as pub lished recen tly. By the w ay, the L onggupo m andib le is of an ape, the p roven ience of the inciso r is p rob lem atic, so far th is site has no t yielded any early P leistocene hom in id fo ssil. R ecen t discovery of stone and bony artefacts of p robab ly 2M a from Fanchang, A nhu i p rovince is the indirect indicato r of the ex istence of hum an s in so early period in Ch ina. 3 O u tline of hum an evo lu tion in Ch ina 311 Con sidera tion a t the in tercon tinen ta l level—Con tinuous evolution with hybr id iza tion To tally m o re than 60 sites yielding hum an fo ssils have been found in Ch ina. T here are a series of comm on m o rpho logical featu res show n am ong these fo ssils. Betw een the H om o erectus and H om o sap iens fo ssils found in Ch ina there is m o saic of m o rpho logical featu res w h ich indicates that betw een these ch rono2species the change is tran sitional. N o clear2cu t · 471 · 人 类 学 学 报 18 卷 © 1994-2006 China Academic Journal Electronic Publishing House. All rights reserved. http://www.cnki.net