Revisiting the origin of modern humans in China and its implications for global human evolution  

作　　者：GAO Xing ZHANG XiaoLing YANG DongYa SHEN Chen WU XinZhi 

机构地区：[1]Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100044,China [2]Laboratory of Human Evolution,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100044,China [3]Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China [4]Department of Archaeology,Simon Fraser University,Vancouver V5A 1S6,Canada [5]The Royal Ontario Museum,Toronto M5S 2C6,Canada

出　　处：《Science China Earth Sciences》2010年第12期1927-1940,共14页中国科学(地球科学英文版)

基　　金：supported by National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2006CB806400);Specific Basic Research Program of Ministry of Sciences and Technology of China (Grant No. 2007FY110200);Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-Q1-04);National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. J0603965);CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams, and Royal Ontario Museum Research Grant

摘　　要：The debates over the origin of modern humans have long been centered on two competing theories:the "Out-of-Africa"(single-place origin) theory and the "Multi-regional Evolution" theory.China is an extremely important region where many ancient human fossils were collected along with numerous associated faunal remains and artefacts.These cultural remains,unearthed from different areas in the country and covering a long time span,will help clarify the controversy.The study of cultural materials in China is expected to shed important light on biological evolutionary patterns and social and technical developments of those early humans as well as their environmental conditions.Based on the analysis of Chinese fossils and associated materials,in conjunction with some genetic studies,this paper aims at evaluating each of the two theories in order to stimulate more discussions.Our study suggests that the evolutionary model of "Continuity with Hybridization" is most relevant in reflecting the current understanding of human evolutionary history in China.Furthermore,we propose that the concept of regional diversity of evolutionary models should be seriously considered to illustrate different evolutionary modes applied to different parts of the world.The debates over the origin of modern humans have long been centered on two competing theories:the 'Out-of-Africa'(single-place origin) theory and the 'Multi-regional Evolution' theory.China is an extremely important region where many ancient human fossils were collected along with numerous associated faunal remains and artefacts.These cultural remains,unearthed from different areas in the country and covering a long time span,will help clarify the controversy.The study of cultural materials in China is expected to shed important light on biological evolutionary patterns and social and technical developments of those early humans as well as their environmental conditions.Based on the analysis of Chinese fossils and associated materials,in conjunction with some genetic studies,this paper aims at evaluating each of the two theories in order to stimulate more discussions.Our study suggests that the evolutionary model of 'Continuity with Hybridization' is most relevant in reflecting the current understanding of human evolutionary history in China.Furthermore,we propose that the concept of regional diversity of evolutionary models should be seriously considered to illustrate different evolutionary modes applied to different parts of the world.

关 键 词：origin of modern humans China human fossils molecular biology palaeolithic archaeology 

分 类 号：Q981[天文地球—古生物学与地层学]