DOCSLIB.ORG

Paleolithic Era Jiùshíqì Shídài ​旧石器时代 C

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Paleolithic Era Jiùshíqì Shídài ​旧石器时代 C ◀ Pakistan-China Relations Comprehensive index starts in volume 5, page 2667. Paleolithic Era Jiùshíqì shídài ​旧石器时代 c. 2 million y.b.p.– c. 10,000 y.b.p. China’s Paleolithic era, also known as the for- in Africa. Slightly later Homo erectus appeared in East aging era, started about 2 million years ago Africa. Their fossils were discovered in Asia as well. The and ended about 10,000 years ago. The large fossils of Homo erectus are the oldest human fossils dis- span of this era can be divided into the Lower, covered beyond Africa. Middle, and Upper periods, each generally correlating with significant change in hu- man evolution. As time went on, human-made​­ The Lower Foraging Era tools became more sophisticated and human Most of the lower foraging-era​­ human fossils and cultural population also increased. layers were found above ground. It is difficult, however, to determine whether stone objects from some early Pleis- tocene sites were human made or natural. he Paleolithic, literally the “Old Stone Age” (also known as the foraging era), is a prehistoric era Model for Banpo, a Neolithic (or New Stone Age) characterized by the use of percussion stone tools village dating to about 4,000 bce. The villagers by humans. In geological terms this period falls within of Banpo, despite their more advanced stage of the Pleistocene period, which began some 3 to 2 million civilization, still used many of the tools con- years ago. Archaeological materials suggest that China’s ceived during the Paleolithic era. Photo by Joan foraging era started some 2 million years ago and ended Lebold Cohen. about 10,000 years ago. It was followed by the Neolithic era, or the New Stone Age. More than 200 foraging-era​­ sites have been excavated in twenty-​­seven provinces and autonomous regions in China. These sites can be divided into the Lower, Mid- dle, and upper foraging-​­era cultures, each correlating with the evolution of humans in general: Homo erec- tus (upright man), Homo sapiens (knowing man), and Homo sapiens sapiens (modern humans). In the world context, the earliest hominids emerged in Africa 7 to 6 million years ago, while the earliest Homo was Homo habilis (skillful person), whose fossils were found only 1709 © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC T 1710 Berkshire Encyclopedia of China 宝 库 山 中 华 全 书 Dated to 2.4 to 2 million years ago, the Renzidong 48 kilometers southwest of modern-​­day Beijing, the site Cave in Anhui Province is the oldest foraging-​­era site was first discovered in 1921. Excavation of the site began found in China, if the stone objects from this site are in 1927. Before 1941 five nearly complete crania were found indeed human-​­made tools. The site of the Xihoudu cul- at the Zhoukoudian cave site. Unfortunately, these fos- ture in Shanxi dates to about 1.8 millions years ago, on sils mysteriously disappeared in 1941. Since 1950, a few a paleomagnetic analysis. Unfortunately, the Xihoudu teeth, a skullcap, a mandible, and several long bones of relics suffered from severe erosion, which blurred pos- human fossils have been discovered at Zhoukoudian. sible traces of human processing of the stone objects. Taken together, the fossils from Locality 1 represent a Another famous site, Shangnabang, Yuanmou, Yunnan, population of more than forty Homo erecti. Clearly, Pe- was initially dated as 1.7 millions years old, according to king Man had used this site for a long time. More than paleomagnetic evidence. A few scholars have recently re- 30 meters of cultural remains in thirteen different layers examined the paleomagnetic evidence and identified the had accumulated on the site. Multiple dating methods, age of two human incisors from Yuanmou to be 600,000– including paleomagnetic analysis and the uranium fis- 500,000 years old. During the lower foraging era, people sion technique, place these layers at between 500,000 and either settled in certain areas for an extended amount of 200,000 years old. Peking Man’s main food source was the time or stayed temporarily in one place. A close exami- meat of wild animals, among which 70 percent were deer nation of the animal bones illustrates their hunting and with heavy horns. All together more than ninety kinds scavenging methods. Stone tools were used to cut animal of mammal fossils have been found at the site, includ- meat; sometimes the broken animal limbs suggest that ing remains of leopard, cave bear, Pachycrocuta sinensis (a marrow was dipped out of these bones. Fire was probably kind of giant hyena), elephant, rhinoceros, water buffalo, used as well because the Shangnabang and Xihoudu sites and ostrich. Many pieces of charcoal, burned bone frag- yielded ashes, although natural, rather than human, fire ments, and hearths suggest that Peking Man had used fire could have left the ashes. and cooked meat, although there is no direct evidence to China’s lower foraging era can be further divided prove that he knew how to make fire. Peking Man made into at least three cultural zones. Zone 1 includes the Xi- six kinds of stone tools: scrapers, points, chopper ham- houdu and Qiahe cultures in Shanxi and the Lantian cul- mers, awls, engravers, and balls. Many are multipurpose ture in Shaanxi. These cultures were distributed mainly objects. Zone 3, in southwestern China, is represented by throughout southern Shanxi, eastern Shaanxi, and west- the Guanyindong culture in Guizhou. The predecessors ern Henan. Although large, stone tools manufactured in of the Guanyindong culture were probably related to the Zone 1 are rather simple. Many of these tools are chop- Yuanmou culture of Yunnan. Stone tools from this cul- pers. In particular a mandible (lower cheek bone) from a tural zone differ to a great degree from the other zones, pithecanthropoid (a hypothetical species thought to be and there are quite a few different types. Most stone arti- intermediate between humans and the anthropoid apes) facts were skillfully fabricated. found near the village of Chenjiawo in Lantian, Shaanxi, dates to about 650,000 years ago. In 1964 a human skull was discovered in Gongzhuling of the same county. Pa- The Middle Foraging Era leomagnetic analysis indicates that the Gongzhuling fos- sil is 1.15 to 1.1 million years old. Both fossils were probably The middle foraging era was between 128,000 and 35,000 from remains of females. years ago. During this time the natural environment Zone 2 covers northern Hebei, northern Shanxi, and changed dramatically. In north China the climate be- southeastern Liaoning and is marked with cave sites. came drier and cooler. As a result the saber-​­toothed ti- Many of the stone tools from Zone 2 are small. The main ger (Smilodon), the giant beaver (Trogontherium), and types are scrapers. In Zone 2, Zhoukoudian Locality 1 is Pachycrocuta sinensis became extinct, while wild donkeys, the most renowned of all foraging-​­era sites in China. Its horses, deer, Bos primigenius (a kind of cattle), and many occupants were collectively called Peking Man. Located other species gradually emerged. © 2009 by Berkshire Publishing Group LLC Paleolithic Era n Jiùshíqì shídài n 旧石器时代 1711 In this period a deposit of wind-​­blown sand and clay, combination of hunting and food gathering was more known as the Malan loess, transformed north China. By viable. Sometimes certain stone tools, including balls, comparison changes in the tropical and subtropical natu- characterize a specific site, suggesting that people were ral environment in south China were less significant. Gi- engaged in specialized hunting or food-​­gathering activi- ant panda, oriental Stegodon (a n e l e p h a n t - like creature), ties. Small, well-​­polished tools, such as engravers, were the Asiatic elephant (Elephas maximus), rhesus monkey, produced at this time. Such tools could be used to process sambar deer, and water buffalo were the typical animal other small-​­scale and more refined objects, which could species living there. The middle foraging-​­era cultures be used for ornamental purposes. At this time in Europe showed varying characteristics. For instance, the Xuji- and West Asia, graves emerged, but so far no tombs from ayao culture in Shaanxi and Hebei produced a number of this era have been found in Asia. The middle foraging era types of small stone tools, most of which were small scrap- also saw an increase in human population. ers. By comparison the Dingcun culture from Shanxi used larger stone tools. The typical Dingcun tools were points with three ridges. The Xujiayao culture might have devel- The Upper Foraging Era oped from the Zhoukoudian culture while the Dingcun may have come from the Qiahe culture. The upper foraging era began about 35,000 years ago Humans during this time lived in caves or camps and ended approximately 10,000 years ago. This period above ground near to water. The middle foraging-era​­ cave witnessed the peak of the glacial period. Many parts of sites were used mainly for dwelling rather than for slaugh- northwest China changed into frozen zones, deserts, tering animals. Many caves have hearths inside. No build- or grasslands, while subtropical forests gave way to ings from this time have been found to be constructed or temperate-​­zone forest grassland or semiarid grassland modeled clearly by humans. north of the Nanling Mountains in south China. Fol- Lifestyles differed according to location. In the trop- lowing the peak of the glacial era, the weather gradually ical and subtropical forest areas, food gathering was changed and warmed the land. From the end of the Pleis- probably common. In the temperate zone grasslands, a tocene period, followed by the Holocene period, weather Bone artifacts from the Banpo Neolithic village, dating to the Paleolithic (foraging) era.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Impact of Large Terrestrial Carnivores on Pleistocene Ecosystems Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Matthew W
    The impact of large terrestrial carnivores on SPECIAL FEATURE Pleistocene ecosystems Blaire Van Valkenburgha,1, Matthew W. Haywardb,c,d, William J. Ripplee, Carlo Melorof, and V. Louise Rothg aDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095; bCollege of Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2UW, United Kingdom; cCentre for African Conservation Ecology, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Port Elizabeth, South Africa; dCentre for Wildlife Management, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa; eTrophic Cascades Program, Department of Forest Ecosystems and Society, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331; fResearch Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, United Kingdom; and gDepartment of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708-0338 Edited by Yadvinder Malhi, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom, and accepted by the Editorial Board August 6, 2015 (received for review February 28, 2015) Large mammalian terrestrial herbivores, such as elephants, have analogs, making their prey preferences a matter of inference, dramatic effects on the ecosystems they inhabit and at high rather than observation. population densities their environmental impacts can be devas- In this article, we estimate the predatory impact of large (>21 tating. Pleistocene terrestrial ecosystems included a much greater kg, ref. 11) Pleistocene carnivores using a variety of data from diversity of megaherbivores (e.g., mammoths, mastodons, giant the fossil record, including species richness within guilds, pop- ground sloths) and thus a greater potential for widespread habitat ulation density inferences based on tooth wear, and dietary in- degradation if population sizes were not limited.
    [Show full text]
  • Persistence of Middle Stone Age Technology to the Pleistocene/Holocene Transition Supports a Complex Hominin Evolutionary Scenario in West Africa
    This is a repository copy of Persistence of Middle Stone Age technology to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition supports a complex hominin evolutionary scenario in West Africa. White Rose Research Online URL for this paper: http://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/129212/ Version: Accepted Version Article: Scerri, E.M.L., Blinkhorn, J., Niang, K. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) Persistence of Middle Stone Age technology to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition supports a complex hominin evolutionary scenario in West Africa. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 11. pp. 639-646. ISSN 2352-409X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2017.01.003 Reuse This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND) licence. This licence only allows you to download this work and share it with others as long as you credit the authors, but you can’t change the article in any way or use it commercially. More information and the full terms of the licence here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Takedown If you consider content in White Rose Research Online to be in breach of UK law, please notify us by emailing [email protected] including the URL of the record and the reason for the withdrawal request. [email protected] https://eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/ Persistence of Middle Stone Age technology to the Pleistocene/Holocene transition supports a complex hominin evolutionary scenario in West Africa Eleanor M.L. Scerria*, James Blinkhornb, Khady Niangc, Mark D. Batemand, Huw S. Groucutta a Research
    [Show full text]
  • Bibliography
    Bibliography Many books were read and researched in the compilation of Binford, L. R, 1983, Working at Archaeology. Academic Press, The Encyclopedic Dictionary of Archaeology: New York. Binford, L. R, and Binford, S. R (eds.), 1968, New Perspectives in American Museum of Natural History, 1993, The First Humans. Archaeology. Aldine, Chicago. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Braidwood, R 1.,1960, Archaeologists and What They Do. Franklin American Museum of Natural History, 1993, People of the Stone Watts, New York. Age. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Branigan, Keith (ed.), 1982, The Atlas ofArchaeology. St. Martin's, American Museum of Natural History, 1994, New World and Pacific New York. Civilizations. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Bray, w., and Tump, D., 1972, Penguin Dictionary ofArchaeology. American Museum of Natural History, 1994, Old World Civiliza­ Penguin, New York. tions. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco. Brennan, L., 1973, Beginner's Guide to Archaeology. Stackpole Ashmore, w., and Sharer, R. J., 1988, Discovering Our Past: A Brief Books, Harrisburg, PA. Introduction to Archaeology. Mayfield, Mountain View, CA. Broderick, M., and Morton, A. A., 1924, A Concise Dictionary of Atkinson, R J. C., 1985, Field Archaeology, 2d ed. Hyperion, New Egyptian Archaeology. Ares Publishers, Chicago. York. Brothwell, D., 1963, Digging Up Bones: The Excavation, Treatment Bacon, E. (ed.), 1976, The Great Archaeologists. Bobbs-Merrill, and Study ofHuman Skeletal Remains. British Museum, London. New York. Brothwell, D., and Higgs, E. (eds.), 1969, Science in Archaeology, Bahn, P., 1993, Collins Dictionary of Archaeology. ABC-CLIO, 2d ed. Thames and Hudson, London. Santa Barbara, CA. Budge, E. A. Wallis, 1929, The Rosetta Stone. Dover, New York. Bahn, P.
    [Show full text]
  • Behavioural Complexity and Modern Traits in the Philippine Upper Palaeolithic
    Behavioural Complexity and Modern Traits in the Philippine Upper Palaeolithic AlFred F. PAwlIk introduction The discussion of cultural, cognitive, and behavioral modernity has a long tradition in europe’s prehistoric archaeology ( Dibble 1989; Hahn 1986; Jelinek 1982; klein 1995, 1999; Mellars 1989a, 1989b). The appearance of specialized blade indus- tries, bone and antler tools, and especially figurative art, musical instruments, and personal ornaments are seen as significant indicators of the highly developed cultural and cognitive abilities of their makers (Clottes 2001; Conard 2003; Conard et al. 2004). The seemingly sudden appearance of expressive art and symbolism together with complex tool technologies in europe at around 40,000 years ago has been attributed to explosive cultural and cognitive advancement with the arrival of ana- tomically modern Homo sapiens ( Klein and Blake 2002; Mellars 1991; Mithen 1996). Whether this Upper Palaeolithic revolution in europe was due to social factors or genetic mutation, was related to changes in the ecosystem, or has a cultural expla- nation (such as competition with another human species, the Neanderthals) is still under debate ( Bar-Yossef 2002; Conard et al. 2004; d’errico 2003; Haidle 2006; McBrearty and Brooks 2000; Mellars 2005; Zilhão 2001). Yet, the “human revolu- tion” model is used to explain the success of the Homo sapiens immigrants over the Neanderthals ( Bräuer and Smith 1992; Conard 2006, 2008; Mellars 2005). On the other hand, potential indicators of an earlier and gradually developing cul- tural and cognitive modernity have been seen in African assemblages. The appearance of some modern cognitive traits (e.g., production of projectile points, shell-fishing, personal ornaments, notational or incised pieces, and pigment processing) in Africa has been dated back to the Middle Pleistocene, earlier than the first evidence of ana- tomically modern hominids 200,000 years ago (Henshilwood et al.
    [Show full text]
  • Settlement Patterns, Chiefdom Variability, and the Development of Early States in North China
    JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL ARCHAEOLOGY 15, 237±288 (1996) ARTICLE NO. 0010 Settlement Patterns, Chiefdom Variability, and the Development of Early States in North China LI LIU School of Archaeology, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Received June 12, 1995; revision received May 17, 1996; accepted May 26, 1996 In the third millennium B.C., the Longshan culture in the Central Plains of northern China was the crucial matrix in which the ®rst states evolved from the basis of earlier Neolithic societies. By adopting the theoretical concept of the chiefdom and by employing the methods of settlement archaeology, especially regional settlement hierarchy and rank-size analysis, this paper introduces a new approach to research on the Longshan culture and to inquiring about the development of the early states in China. Three models of regional settlement pattern correlating to different types of chiefdom systems are identi®ed. These are: (1) the centripetal regional system in circumscribed regions representing the most complex chiefdom organizations, (2) the centrifugal regional system in semi-circumscribed regions indicating less integrated chiefdom organization, and (3) the decentral- ized regional system in noncircumscribed regions implying competing and the least complex chief- dom organizations. Both external and internal factors, including geographical condition, climatic ¯uctuation, Yellow River's changing course, population movement, and intergroup con¯ict, played important roles in the development of complex societies in the Longshan culture. As in many cultures in other parts of the world, the early states in China emerged from a system of competing chiefdoms, which was characterized by intensive intergroup con¯ict and frequent shifting of political centers.
    [Show full text]
  • Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications
    Boise State University ScholarWorks Anthropology Faculty Publications and Presentations Department of Anthropology Summer 2017 Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications Shengqian Chen Renmin University of China Pei-Lin Yu Boise State University This document was originally published by University of Chicago Press in Journal of Anthropological Research. Copyright restrictions may apply. doi: 10.1086/692104 Early “Neolithics” of China: Variation and Evolutionary Implications SHENGQIAN CHEN, School of History, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872 PEI-LIN YU, Department of Anthropology, Boise State University, Boise, ID 83725, USA. Email: [email protected] The growth and significance of scientific research into the origins of agriculture in China calls for fresh examination at scales large enough to facilitate explanation of cultural evolutionary processes. The Paleolithic to Neolithic transition (PNT) is not yet well-understood because most archaeo- logical research on early agriculture cites data from the more conspicuous and common early Neo- lithic sites. In this, the first of two papers, we synthesize a broad range of early Neolithic archae- ological data, including diagnostic artifacts, settlement patterns, site structure, and biological remains, to consider agriculture as a system-level adaptive phenomenon. Although farming by this period was already well-established in much of North China and the middle Yangtze River basin, echoes of the foraging past can be found in the persistence of hunting-related artifacts in North China’s Loess Plateau and aquatic-based intensification and vegeculture in South China. Our analysis of the growing body of Chinese data and projections using Binford’s hunting and gathering database indicate that agriculture was differentially developed, adopted, or resisted by foragers according to measurable, predictable initial conditions of habitat that influenced diet breadth.
    [Show full text]
  • Plant Foods and the Dietary Ecology of Neanderthals and Early Modern Humans
    Journal of Human Evolution xxx (2014) 1e11 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans Amanda G. Henry a,*, Alison S. Brooks b, Dolores R. Piperno c,d a Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany b Department of Anthropology, Center for Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 2110 G St NW, Washington, DC 20052, USA c Program in Human Ecology and Archaeobiology, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC 20013- 7012, USA d Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Box 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancon, Panama article info abstract Article history: One of the most important challenges in anthropology is understanding the disappearance of Nean- Received 3 February 2012 derthals. Previous research suggests that Neanderthals had a narrower diet than early modern humans, Accepted 22 December 2013 in part because they lacked various social and technological advances that lead to greater dietary variety, Available online xxx such as a sexual division of labor and the use of complex projectile weapons. The wider diet of early modern humans would have provided more calories and nutrients, increasing fertility, decreasing Keywords: mortality and supporting large population sizes, allowing them to out-compete Neanderthals. However, Phytolith this model for Neanderthal dietary behavior is based on analysis of animal remains, stable isotopes, and Starch grain Microfossil other methods that provide evidence only of animal food in the diet.
    [Show full text]
  • Pleistocene Cave Hyenas in the Iberian Peninsula: New Insights from Los Aprendices Cave (Moncayo, Zaragoza)
    Palaeontologia Electronica palaeo-electronica.org Pleistocene cave hyenas in the Iberian Peninsula: New insights from Los Aprendices cave (Moncayo, Zaragoza) Víctor Sauqué, Raquel Rabal-Garcés, Joan Madurell-Malaperia, Mario Gisbert, Samuel Zamora, Trinidad de Torres, José Eugenio Ortiz, and Gloria Cuenca-Bescós ABSTRACT A new Pleistocene paleontological site, Los Aprendices, located in the northwest- ern part of the Iberian Peninsula in the area of the Moncayo (Zaragoza) is presented. The layer with fossil remains has been dated by amino acid racemization to 143.8 ± 38.9 ka (earliest Late Pleistocene or latest Middle Pleistocene). Five mammal species have been identified in the assemblage: Crocuta spelaea (Goldfuss, 1823) Capra pyre- naica (Schinz, 1838), Lagomorpha indet, Arvicolidae indet and Galemys pyrenaicus (Geoffroy, 1811). The remains of C. spelaea represent a mostly complete skeleton in anatomical semi-connection. The hyena specimen represents the most complete skel- eton ever recovered in Iberia and one of the most complete remains in Europe. It has been compared anatomically and biometrically with both European cave hyenas and extant spotted hyenas. In addition, a taphonomic study has been carried out in order to understand the origin and preservation of these exceptional remains. The results sug- gest rapid burial with few scavenging modifications putatively produced by a medium sized carnivore. A review of the Pleistocene Iberian record of Crocuta spp. has been carried out, enabling us to establish one of the earliest records of C. spelaea in the recently discovered Los Aprendices cave, and also showing that the most extensive geographical distribution of this species occurred during the Late Pleistocene (MIS4- 2).
    [Show full text]
  • Biface Distributions and the Movius Line: a Southeast Asian Perspective
    University of Wollongong Research Online Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive) Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health 2012 Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective Adam Brumm University of Wollongong, [email protected] Mark W. Moore University of New England Follow this and additional works at: https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers Part of the Life Sciences Commons, Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons, and the Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Brumm, Adam and Moore, Mark W.: Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective 2012, 32-46. https://ro.uow.edu.au/scipapers/4441 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] Biface distributions and the Movius Line: A Southeast Asian perspective Abstract The ‘Movius Line’ is the putative technological demarcation line mapping the easternmost geographical distribution of Acheulean bifacial tools. It is traditionally argued by proponents of the Movius Line that ‘true’ Acheulean bifaces, especially handaxes, are only found in abundance in Africa and western Eurasia, whereas in eastern Asia, in front of the ‘line’, these implements are rare or absent altogether. Here we argue, however, that the Movius Line relies on classifying undated surface bifaces as Acheulean on typological grounds alone, a long-standing and widely accepted practice in Africa and western Eurasia, but one that is not seen as legitimate in eastern Asian contexts. A review of the literature shows that bifaces are relatively common as surface finds in Southeast Asia and on this basis we argue that the Movius Line is in need of reassessment.
    [Show full text]
  • The Early Paleolithic of China1) HUANG Weiwen2)
    第 四 紀 研 究 (The Quaternary Research) 28 (4) p. 237-242 Nov. 1989 The Early Paleolithic of China1) HUANG Weiwen2) spread widely and existed for a long time. The Introduction deposits contained very rich fossils of mammal. 1. Geographic Distribution and the Types of The fauna exisiting in the stage from the early Deposits to the middle Pleistocene can be at least divided Before the 1940's, only one locality of the into three groups, which have their own Early Paleolithic period was discovered in characteristics and sequence: Nihewan fauna of China. That is Zhoukoudian near Beijing early Pleistocene, Gongwangling (Lantian Man) City (the site of Peking Man). Since the 1950's fauna of the latest stage of early Pleistocene many new localities have been found, of which or the earliest stage of middle Pleistocene and no less than fifteen are relatively important. Zhoukoudian (Peking Man) fauna of the middle These localities spread in North, South and Pleistocene. In the recent years, some scholars Northeast China covering a range from 23°35' to have suggested that locations of Dali and 40°15'N and from 101°58' to 124°8'E which Dingcun which originally recognized as be- includes two climate zones, namely, the sub- longing to the early stage of late Pleistocene tropical zone and warm temperate zone in the should place in the middle Pleistocene, as the eastern part of today's Asia (Fig. 1). latest stage of this epoch (LIU and DING,1984). The localities include three types of deposit: There also existed fluviatile and fluviol- 1) Fluviatile deposit: acustrine deposits of Pleistocene in South Xihoudu (Shanxi), Kehe (Shanxi), Lantian China.
    [Show full text]
  • The History of Prehistoric Research in Indonesia to 1950
    The History of Prehistoric Research in Indonesia to 1950 Received 16 January 1968 R. P. SOE]ONO INTRODUCTION HE oldest description of material valuable for prehistoric recording in future times was given by G. E. Rumphius at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Rum­ T phius mentioned the veneration of historical objects by local peoples, and even now survivals of the very remote past retain their respect. On several islands we also notice a continuation of prehistoric traditions and art. Specific prehistoric relics, like many other archaeological remains, are holy to most of the inhabitants because of their quaint, uncommon shapes. As a result, myths are frequently created around these objects. An investigator is not permitted to inspect the bronze kettle­ drum kept in a temple at Pedjeng (Bali) and he must respect the people's devout feelings when he attempts to observe megalithic relics in the Pasemah Plateau (South Sumatra); these facts accentuate the persistence oflocal veneration even today. In spite of the veneration of particular objects, which in turn favors their preservation, many other relics have been lost or destroyed through digging or looting by treasure hunters or other exploiters seeking economic gain. Moreover, unqualified excavators have com­ pounded the problem. P. V. van Stein Callenfels, originally a specialist in Hindu-Indonesian archaeology, be­ came strongly aware of neglect in the field of prehistoric archaeology, and he took steps to begin systematic research. During his visit to kitchen middens in East Sumatra during a tour of inspection in 1920 for the Archaeological Service, he met with the digging of shell heaps for shell for limekilns.
    [Show full text]
  • Stone Age Technology
    World’s Early People DIGGING UP DNA STONE AGE TECHNOLOGY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH Worlds_Early_People_FC.indd 1 2/7/17 11:22 AM 2 Who Lived in the Stone Age? When you think of “old,” what comes to But they helped hominins to thrive. mind? Last year’s shoes? Life before the The first species to make tools is from the Internet? Try a little earlier – 2.5 million genus (category) we call Homo (human). It years earlier! is known as Homo habilis, or “handy That’s about the time some of the first person.” It most likely lived in Africa 1.5 hominins, or humanlike species that walk to 2.4 million years ago. Homo habilis upright, started making tools from rocks. represented a big change. How big? Big Their tools were simple – mainly stones enough that we call its time the Paleolithic split to form a point or a sharp edge. era, or the Old Stone Age. l THE BRAINS ability to make of Homo habilis and use tools. were about Homo habilis’s half the size of tools and brain- present-day human power helped it brains. However, spread. Over the brains of Homo millennia, it habilis were larger adapted, or made than the brains changes that of the hominins helped it survive, to that came before live in regions that it. This may have earlier species had contributed to its found too harsh. d HOMO ERECTUS, or early as 2.5 million communities, hunt “upright person,” years ago, Homo for food, create art, was probably a lot erectus was at its and control fire like Homo habilis, peak about 1.9 for warmth and but taller and thin- million years ago.
    [Show full text]