钟乳石铀系年龄与洞穴遗址年代测定

中、晚更新世洞穴古人类遗址中,多有与遗物有明确层位关系的钙板或其它形式的钟乳石类碳酸岩,是测定铀系年龄的理想材料。本文在简单介绍钟乳石铀系年龄原理后,着重讨论了其可信度。铀系年代计算需引入二个主要假设:“零点假设”及封闭体系假设,还有若干同位素和地层学的标准,可用来判断数据是否异常而应被舍去。已有实验证据表明,对纯净致密、结晶良好的钟乳石样来说,上述基本假设可以成立,也尚未发现与地层顺序相矛盾及同位素比异常的例子,这表明了钟乳石铀系年龄的良好可信度。文中给出了法国Arago、希腊Petralona、周口店第一地点、贵州黔西观音洞等重要古人类遗址的应用实例,并讨论了其存在问题及发展前景。     

古人类遗址桐梓岩灰洞的Th-230/U-234年龄

用 Th-230/U-234法测定了岩灰洞钟乳石结层和骨化石样品的年龄。划为第二层的钙板的年龄为21.4万年。先于钙板生成的岩灰洞堆积物的年龄应大于此值,因此应划为更新世中期,桐梓人应属直立人。     

贵州一石笋TIMS--铀系定年及其古气候研究

通过对贵州七星洞ZFQX1石笋进行TIMS--铀系定年及其生长率分析,获得了距今43.02-1 2.65 ka的古气候信息.该石笋反映了此阶段贵州地区经历了暖湿--冷干--暖湿的气候演变趋势,这与全球古气候变化波动基本一致,同时也具有地区性的气候特点.     

湘西更新世哺乳动物化石痕迹考察研究

目的 考察湘西土家族苗族自治州古丈县断龙乡猛虎洞更新世哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹的状态与原因,探索湘西地区古人类活动的遗迹.方法 观测哺乳动物群骨化石断裂痕迹剖面的形态结构,以区别食肉类动物群的咬痕与人类打造的印迹.结果 经40件东方剑齿象、中国犀、鹿等残骨化石标本断裂痕迹剖面的观测,发现有部分骨化石断裂剖面圆钝,似啮齿动物的咬痕,但大部分骨化石断端剖面呈锥形切削改造,有的双面削刮呈锐利器型,有的存在明显打击或铲刮的 “印记”,初步认为属早期人类制作骨器的遗迹.结论 结合地理环境和地学结构分析,猛虎洞可能属晚更新世(10～5)万年前旧石器人类穴居的营地或系同生代古脊椎动物的遗址.     

周口店遗址博物馆展出最新科研成果

2009年05月21日中国商务在线旅行网报道：周口店北京人遗址最新科研成果展今起在遗址博物馆第五展厅开展. 周口店遗址自1927年开始大规模发掘以来,共发现包括猿人洞、山顶洞、第四地点、田园洞等27个具有学术价值的化石地点,出土了代表40多个“北京人”的化石遗骸,10多万件石器,上百种动物化石及大量的用火遗迹等,遗址发掘研究工作从未停止．     

重庆合川三汇坝晚更新世哺乳动物群

对三汇坝牛尾洞发现的19种哺乳动物化石应用数理统计分析、铀系和含氟量测年分析、孢粉分析进行了研究.论证了它们是一个晚更新世时生活于亚热带暖热湿润气候中的乔木林-灌木林-湿草地动物群.通过它与四川盆地第四纪的几个典型动物群相比较,证明其性质仍是我国南方广义“大熊猫-剑齿象动物群”之一员.其特点鲜明,是该动物群演化发展过程中的一环,介于歌乐山与资阳两动物群之间.     

旧石器时代的安徽

安徽旧石器时代考古曾一直是个空白。20世纪80年代以来,"和县猿人""巢县智人"以及水阳江旧石器地点群的发现,揭开了境内古人类和旧石器研究的序幕。1980年和县龙潭洞遗址发掘后,至今已发现人类化石地点2处,旧石器地点60处以上,集中在巢湖市,水阳江流域及皖北一带,时代以旧石器早中期或中期为主,晚期较少。本文概述了安徽旧石器时代的考古发现。     

陕西洛南中晚更新世根田鼠化石

目的研究陕西洛南张坪洞穴群中发现的根田鼠化石M icccrotus oeconomus。方法运用经典古生物学方法,包括化石解剖、系统描述、形态对比、统计归纳。结果M3舌侧3褶沟4褶角;m1有4个封闭的三角,第5个与前帽贯通,后环位于齿列纵轴上;m3唇侧3褶角;M3和m1的长度、宽度从第6层洞到第1层洞逐渐变大,第6齿峡(Is6)的宽度变小。结论化石的主要特征可与周口店第1地点的M.epiratticeps相对比,主要测量值在现生种的变异范围之内,确定为中更新世以来不同时段的根田鼠化石,其颊齿趋于增大,第6齿峡趋于变窄。     

虎头梁砾石钙膜的研究与意义

我们在河北阳原虎头梁的冻融褶皱砾石层顶部发现一层钙膜砾石.通过对钙膜明暗度曲线分析及其与氧同位素曲线的对比研究,结合14 C测年结果,得出虎头梁钙膜的发育时间介于40~21ka BP之间.砾石钙膜的发育代表着曾经地下水位停留在此,说明在泥河湾古湖消亡后,桑干河下切初始阶段有过一段较长时间的停顿.根据河流阶地的高差及年龄数据,计算桑干河虎头梁段在21~7.6ka BP、7.6~3.1ka BP和3.1~0ka BP 3个阶段的河流下切速率分别为1.8、4.2、2.9mm·a-1.这种下切速率的差异应主要是由气候变化造成的.     

冲绳海槽火山岩同位素特征及铀系组分法测年

借助多种分析方法,对采自冲绳海槽北段和中段的火山岩进行了常量元素、稀土元素、Sr-Nd同位素组成分析及铀系组分法年龄测定,在此基础上对此地区的海槽岩浆的起源、演化及岩石类型进行了研究.结果表明(1)海槽晚更新世(大约10万年)以来有一期广泛的酸性火山喷发活动;(2)受板块俯冲的控制,此期火山活动年龄按照与琉球岛弧距离的由近到远而由新到老;(3)海槽北、中段岩浆演化过程相似,其下很可能存在有巨大的、统一的岩浆房,但与海槽南段岩浆作用差异明显,岩浆物质很可能来源于PREMA地幔源区;(4) 此地区的黑色浮岩为钙碱性系列流纹岩,岩石化学组成与海槽产出的白色浮岩相似,形成年代为17.7±2.1 ka.     

U-series dating of Zhangkou Cave in Yiliang,Yunnan Province:Evidence for human activities in China during 40—100 ka

The cultural deposits at pits T1 and T2 in Zhangkou Cave are intercalated with several flowstone layers. U-series dates show that the capping and 2rid flowstone layers are Holocene of age. The 4th and 5th flowstone layers are ca. 55 and 110 ka old respectively. The lithic artifacts bracketed by them provide unequivocal evidence for hominid presence during this time interval. The ““temporal gap““ of hominid fossil, widely quoted as in support of the out-of-Africa hypothesis, is most probably an artifact due to systematic errors of dating techniques. The infillings under 6th flowstone layer date to ＞300 ka, much older than the previous estimate at 15 ka based on classical 14C dating of fossil bones, providing one more example of the limited reliability of this chronometer. With rich relics and favorable conditions for precise dating, this site is promising for further multidisciplinary studies to address issues concerning recent human evolution in China.     

U-series dating of Zhangkou Cave in Yiliang, Yunnan Province: Evidence for human activities in China during 40–100 ka

The cultural deposits at pits T1 and T2 in Zhangkou Cave are intercalated with several flowstone layers. U-series dates show that the capping and 2nd flowstone layers are Holocene of age. The 4th and 5th flowstone layers are ca. 55 and 110 ka old respectively. The lithic artifacts bracketed by them provide unequivocal evidence for hominid presence during this time interval. The ┐temporal gap” of hominid fossil, widely quoted as in support of the out-of-Africa hypothesis, is most probably an artifact due to systematic errors of dating techniques. The infillings under 6th flowstone layer date to > 300 ka, much older than the previous estimate at 15 ka based on classical¹⁴C dating of fossil bones, providing one more example of the limited reliability of this chronometer. With rich relics and favorable conditions for precise dating, this site is promising for further multidisciplinary studies to address issues concerning recent human evolution in China.     

A preliminary report on the newly found Tianyuan Cave, a Late Pleistocene human fossil site near Zhoukoudian

The Tianyuan Cave is the only human fossil-bearing site containing rich mammalian fossils found in the last decades near Zhoukoudian. Up to now more than 34 specimens of the human body have been recovered, and the mammalian fossils can be put into 29 species. Cervids dominate the fauna, and carnivores are very rare. Based on the primary examination, the human fossils can be attributed to the species Homo sapiens. All the mammalian fossils, except one between tooth of Crocuta belong to the species that still exist today. But some of them are the first records in fossil form north of the Yellow River, such as Arctonyx and Capricornis. Based on the mammalian fauna study, it seems that the Tianyuan Cave can be correlated with the Upper Cave.Sixty-three percent of the species of the mammalian fauna from the Tianyuan Cave are also present in the Upper Cave.The characters of the deposits also share some similarities between the Tianyuan Cave and the Upper Cave; both of them are mainly composed of breccia without cement. The dating using the U-series method on deer tooth samples indicates that the geological age of the new site is around 25 thousand years B.P. This is the first discovery of human sites outside the core area of the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian,which throws new light onto this world famous site complex.     

Huanglong Cave, a new late Pleistocene hominid site in Hubei Province, China

For the past two decades, the modern human origins debate has received significant interest from both the scientific community and the public. The two hypothe- ses “Out of Africa” and “Mutiregional evolution” are focuses of this debate[1-3]. In partic…     

The Homo sapiens Cave hominin site of Mulan Mountain, Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo, Guangxi with emphasis on its age

One of the most hotly debated and frontal issues in paleoanthropology focuses on the origins of modern humans. Recently, an incomplete hominin mandible with a distinctly weaker mental protuberance than modern human and a great variety of coexisting fossil mammals were unearthed from the Homo sapiens Cave of Mulan Mountain, Chongzuo, Guangxi. The mammalian fauna from the Homo sapiens Cave characterized by the combination of Elephas kiangnanensis, first occurring Elephas maixmus, and Megatapirus augustus, and strikingly different from the Early Pleistocene Gigantopithecus fauna and the Middle Pleistocene Ailuropoda-Stogodon fauna of South China could be regarded as an early representive of the typical Asian elephant fauna. Faunal analysis, biostratigraphic correlation, and, most importantly, U-series dating all consistently support an estimate of ca. 110 ka for the age of the fossil Homo sapiens and coexisting mammalian fauna, that is, the early Late Pleistocene. The fauna is mainly made up of tropical-subtropical elements, but grassland elements have a much greater variety than forest elements, which probably indicates a drier climate at that time. This discovery of early Homo sapiens at the Mulan Mountain will play a significant role in the study of the origin and its environmental background of modern humans.     

陕西蓝田锡水洞哺乳动物群的意义

在分析了锡水洞化石哺乳动物群的性质及其所反映的古气候环境后，通过对该时期古人类分布及活动的推断，确定出该动物群的时代为中更新世，进而推算出了第四纪中期以来秦岭大约抬升了１１０ｍ。     

SPELEOGENETIC ENVIRONMENT AND EVOLUTION OF ZHIJIN CAVE

Zhijin Cave consists of five major passages with a network formed in plan.It is 4215 m long as awell-known show cave in China.This paper looks at the speleogenetic environment of the cave. Us-ing systematological methods,the author examines the plaeokarst climatic environment of the cavearea,discusses the cave's development and evolution in detail according to the analysis from fossildrainage changes,cave interior deposits,carbon and oxygen isotopes,and U-series,dating data.Itconcludes with a growth model for the cave.     

120-150 ka human tooth and ivory engravings from Xinglongdong Cave, Three Gorges Region, South China

Rich paleoanthropological materials were unearthed in primary context from the Xinglongdong Cave in Fengjie County, Chongqing, South China, including a human tooth, numerous mammalian fossils, some stone artifacts and a Stegodon tusk exhibiting intentional engravings.Based on biostratigraphic data and uranium series dating,the cave was utilized as a human shelter about 120000-150000 years ago. It is the first time that an archaic Homo sapiens fossil has been unearthed from the Three Gorges Region. Engravings on the Stegodon tusk appear in groups,making up simple and abstract images. It is the earliest known engravings created by human beings; it exhibits great potential for the study of the origin of art and the development of ancient cultures in south China and bears important implications for the origin of modern humans in East Asia.     

Deep-sea pollen research in China

This paper briefly presents the progress of deep-sea pollen research in China since the beginning of ninetieths of the last Century. All the deep-sea pollen contri-butions mainly come from the South China Sea (SCS) and the East China Sea (ECS). The German-Chinese joint cruise (Sonne 95) and ODP 184 cruise initiated by Chinese scientists in the SCS provided excellent material for the deep-sea pollen research. So far a number of pollen results of 20-30 ka and million years from the SCS have been published. A couple of deep-sea pollen records from Okinawa Through of the ECS also came out. The high resolution pollen records obtained from the continuous deposits with high sedimentation rates and reliable age control of the deep-sea sediments provided a high time resolution history (hundred to millennial scales) of vegetation, environment and monsoon evolution of the pollen source areas (southern China and Japan). Spectral analysis of deep-sea pollen records from the SCS discovered orbital (100, 41, 23, 10 ka) and suborbital cyclicities(Heinrich and Dansgaard/Oscheger-O/D events) in the vegetation changes. Moreover, cross spectral analysis showed that the trend of vegetation changes in northern SCS was regulated mainly by changes of the ice volume in the Northern Hemisphere. The pollen record of the last 20 ka from the Okinawa Through of the ECS indicates that the marine environmental change lagged that on the terrestrail by about 1000 year. The asynchronous environmental changes between land and sea were probably caused by the time difference in thermohaline circulation. This study underscored the role of the deep-sea plant fossils as a bridge across the land and sea.     

The δ18O variation of a stalagmite from Qixing Cave, Guizhou Province and indicated climate change during the Holocene

A stalagmite from Qixing Cave, Guizhou Province was dated with the TIMS U-series method and its oxygen isotope composition was analyzed. On the basis of the ages and the variations of the δ¹⁸O of the stalagmite, the climate change of the last 7.7 ka has been reconstructed in this area: 7.7–5.8 ka, summer monsoon maximum period; 5.8–3.8 ka summer monsoon weakening period; 3.8–0.15 ka, weakened summer monsoon and high amplitude climate fluctuations period. We put forward that the increasing trend of δ¹⁸O of the stalagmite reflected not only the weakening of the summer monsoon, which was caused by the decreasing of solar radiation in the Northern Hemisphere, but also the possibly decreasing contribution of the southwest monsoon to the rainfall of this area. These results are consistent with the output of the numerical climate-model modeling. The high amplitude fluctuation of the δ¹⁸O may imply the quick shift of the contributions of different moisture sources to the precipitation in this area.