中国早期现代人形成过程中的形态变异 - 新方法新手段的应用研究

The recent human fossil discovery and related studies in Zhiren Cave, Chongzuo of Guangxi and Huanglong Cave, Yunxi of Hubei indicate that early modern humans appeared in China as eraly as 100 ka. Besides, it is realized that there are still some issues during the formation of early modern humans in China should be solved. Among them, the most imortant one is the morphological variations during this time period. However, so far, the detailed process of early modern human formation in China is still unclear. The main reason for this is the complicated morphological patterns of the late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene humans in China. For the past decades, with the traditional research methods, the information collected from the human fossils has been very limitted, and the evolutionary process can not be fully revealed. In recent years, a series of new equipment and methods have been used in the human fossil studies, and proved to be veryb powerful. In the current project, the rich late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene human fossils found in China will be studied with some new equipment and methods. We are going to conduct the following studies: (1) symmetry of crania and face; (2) size proportions of crania and teeth; (3) brain morphology and variations; (4) biomechanical features of limb bones; (5) pathology and trauma. CT scanning, laser scanning, gometric morphometric analysis, pathological and trauma analysis will be emploied. With these new approaches, data and information related to the early modern human formation can be collected from the fossils. Based on these information with referring some related dating and envirmental studies, the morphological pattern and variations of late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene humans in China will be analyzed. Further implications in the formation and disposal of early modern humans in China will be touched. Through the studies of the present project, it is expected to achieve the following results: (1) clarifying the morphological varaiations of fossil humans since late Middle Pleistocene including different expression patterns, variation ranges and evolutionary degrees; (2) revealing the appearing time and geographical disttributions of early modern humans in China; (3) provide living and adapting patterns of early modern humans in China; (4) more fossil evidence will be obtained for the studies of modern human origin in China and the whole East Asia.

最近在广西崇左智人洞和湖北郧西黄龙洞发现的人类化石及相关研究显示，早期现代人在中国10万年前就已经出现。然而，学术界对早期现代人在中国的形成过程仍不清楚，其主要原因是在中国发现的中更新世界晚期以来的人类化石呈现出复杂的形态变异，采用传统的研究手段采集的化石信息非常有限。本项目以丰富的中国中更新世晚期和晚更新世人类化石为主要研究材料，采用CT、激光扫描、几何形态测量、病理创伤分析等方法和手段，系统全面地采集这些古人类化石头骨和牙齿对称性、大小比例关系、脑形态、肢骨生物力学特征，以及病理与创伤方面的数据信息。在此基础上，重点分析这一时期中国古人类化石上呈现的形态变异，探讨这些化石形态特征在中国早期现代人形成及分布扩散上的意义。通过本项目研究，有望阐明中更新世晚期以来中国古人类形态变异，初步揭示早期现代人在中国出现时间和分布情况，为研究论证中国乃至整个东亚地区现代人起源提供进一步的化石证据。

近年来的新发现和研究显示，中更新世晚期-晚更新世早期过渡阶段中国古人类化石形态特征变异较大，以往认为的“简约模式”的人类演化方式和迁徙路径，无法解释具有镶嵌型体质特征的中国古人类的演化过程。目前对早期现代人在中国出现地点及演化规律还不清楚。本项目以中国中更新世晚期和晚更新世早期人类化石为主要研究材料，采用传统形态观测并结合CT、激光扫描、几何形态测量等新方法和新手段，获取了中国古人类头骨、牙齿、脑形态、肢骨生物力学特征以及病理与创伤情况的数据。在此基础上，对这一时期中国古人类化石上呈现的形态变异情况及其在中国早期现代人形成及分布扩散上的意义进行了分析和探讨，为论证中国乃至整个东亚地区现代人起源提供了进一步的化石证据。.四年来，课题组成员采集了大量古人类标本的3D数据。新发现47枚更新世晚期人类牙齿化石、1件较为完整的中更新世古人类头骨及10余件人类头骨牙齿化石碎片。11人次参加国内外学术会议。培养博士研究生3名，硕士研究生4名。发表研究论文37篇，完成古人类学术专著1部，其中包括Nature，PNAS等SCI杂志论文18篇，国内核心期刊杂志论文19篇。 . 一些重要的研究成果及科学意义如下：(1) 在现代人起源方面取得重大突破：在湖南道县福岩洞发现47颗具有完全现代人形态的人类牙齿化石，这是东亚最早的现代人化石；(2) 在东亚古人类中发现 “尼安德特人内耳迷路模式”：这是迄今为止尼安德特人以外更新世人类首次发现的与尼安德特人衍生性状一致的化石证据, 促使研究者重新思考应用孤立的形态或者遗传特征追溯人类迁徙及判断人群亲缘关系的可靠性；(3) 编写了《中国古人类化石》一书：归纳整理了中国境内72个遗址发现的更新世古人类化石的多方面信息，向读者展示出古人类学界的最新研究成果以及不同的学术观点；(4) 在更新世许家窑化石标本上，发现人群之间争斗留下的创伤痕迹及世界首例先天巨顶孔遗传病例；(5)提出中更新世晚期-晚更新世早期过渡阶段，导致中国古人类化石具有复杂的镶嵌型体质特征的原因可能是在进化过程中发生了多次迁徙和融合事件。