Exclusive: Advances of Paleobiology

Xuchang human fossils found in Lingjing site in Henan Province and related research progress

  • LI Zhanyang ,
  • WU Xiujie
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  • 1. Institure of Cultural Heritage, Shangdong University, Jinan 250000, China;
    2. Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Heritage and Archaeology, Zhengzhou 450000, China;
    3. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China

Received date: 2018-05-06

  Revised date: 2018-08-23

  Online published: 2018-12-18

Abstract

Xuchang human fossils dating around 100 ka years ago, found at Lingjing site in Henan Province in 2007 and 2014, have attracted wide attentions of international paleoanthropology communities. Studies show that around the early part of the Late Pleistocene, some archaic Homo sapiens exhibited a morphological mosaic of East Asian and western contemporaries. During this period, many types of ancient humans of genetic mixture might exist in China. Xuchang human fossils provide a certain degree of support for the regional continuity of the evolutionary pattern of Chinese human fossils as well as their dynamic exchanges of European contemporaries. In this paper, we review the discovery, the history, the cranial reconstruction, and the research significance of Xuchang human fossils, as well as the related research progress on mammalian fossils, artificial stones, and bone tools, which are associated with Xuchang human remains. The future research prospects of Lingjing site are discussed. The findings of the Xuchang human fossils and the associated cultural relics provide important reference materials for discussing the physical characteristics and the behavior of human beings at that time in Lingjing site.

Cite this article

LI Zhanyang , WU Xiujie . Xuchang human fossils found in Lingjing site in Henan Province and related research progress[J]. Science & Technology Review, 2018 , 36(23) : 20 -25 . DOI: 10.3981/j.issn.1000-7857.2018.23.003

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