Xuchang man
As Xuchang-man ( Chinese 许昌人 , Pinyin Xuchangren ) are in the Chinese province of Henan in Lingjing (灵井), Xuchang , (许昌) since 2007 excavated in an open-air site fragments of fossil calvarial from the Upper Pleistocene referred.
Description of the finds
When they were first presented to the public in 2008, the finds were dated between 100,000 and 80,000 years ago. After further excavations between 2008 and 2014, the reconstruction of two skull caps from fragments belonging together (Xuchang 1 and Xuchang 2) was described in Science for the first time in March 2017 , which with the help of optically stimulated luminescence has now been dated 125,000 to 105,000 years ago ( Oxygen isotope level MIS 5e or 5d). The inner skull volume of Xuchang 1 was given as approximately 1800 cm³, which means that it is in the uppermost range of the skull dimensions known from Neanderthals ; Xuchang 2 is smaller, but located in the central area of the skull preserved from the Pleistocene . The bony labyrinth (Labyrinthus osseus) of the inner ear , which could be reconstructed on the basis of impressions in preserved skull bones, shows features that are known from many Neanderthals.
The Chinese researchers described the finds as a mosaic of archaic features (closely related to the European Neanderthal, but distinguishable from him) and modern anatomical features - known from the early Pleistocene - and pointed out that the fossils were in the sense of the theory of the multiregional origin of modern humans can be interpreted. Due to their characteristics, however, these finds can possibly be assigned to the Denisova people .
Associated with the two hominine skullcaps, fragments of three other skulls were recovered (Xuchang 3 to 5), as well as stone tools and fossil remains of other living beings, including numerous bones of horses , cattle , deer , woolly rhinos and short-tailed gazelles .
See also
Web links
- Ancient Skull May Rewrite Human History. Beijing Review of March 13, 2008
- Xuchangren zhuanti ( Memento from July 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) - Chinese
- Human fossils found in Henan. On: german.china.org.cn of June 13, 2008
- Researchers find 100,000 year old skulls. On: spiegel.de from January 23, 2008
- Découverte d'un crâne de plus de 80,000 ans en Chine. On: hominides.com from January 25, 2008
- Lingjing Paleolithic Site, Xuchang Henan Province. On: chinaculture.org as of April 8, 2008
Individual evidence
- ↑ New fund for research into the origins of humans. China Internet Information Center June 13, 2008
- ^ Zhan-Yang Li et al .: Late Pleistocene archaic human crania from Xuchang, China. In: Science. Volume 355, No. 6328, 2017, pp. 969–972, doi: 10.1126 / science.aal2482
- ^ New Finds from China Suggest Human Evolution Probably of Regionally Continuity. Explanations of the Chinese Academy of Sciences , on: english.cas.cn of March 3, 2017
- ↑ Ancient skulls may belong to elusive humans called Denisovans. On: sciencemag.org of March 2, 2017