Asian Paleoanthropology (eBook)

From Africa to China and Beyond

Christopher J. Norton, David R. Braun (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2010 | 2011
XII, 216 Seiten
Springer Netherland (Verlag)
978-90-481-9094-2 (ISBN)

Infos

This volume brings together a group of authors that address the question of the first out of Africa into Asia c. 2 Ma. The scope of the book is comprehensive as it covers almost every major region of Asia. The primary goal of this volume is to provide an updated synthesis of the current state of the Asian paleoanthropological and paleoenvironmental records. Papers include detailed studies of the theoretical constructs underlying the move out of Africa, including detailed reconstructions of the paleoenvironment and possible migration routes. Other papers detail the Plio-Pleistocene archaeological and hominin fossil records of particular regions.

Christopher Norton has spent the past eighteen years conducting paleoanthropological research in China, Korea, and Japan. Of those eighteen years, Norton has spent more than eight years actually living in those respective countries learning not only the paleoanthropology, but the cultures and languages as well. This has allowed Norton to develop a broader, regional scope for his research. This has facilitated his previous research and was the primary impetus for proposing this comprehensive synthesis of the current state of research in Asian paleoanthropology. The co-editor, David Braun, works primarily in Africa. However, we both agreed that comparative research between Africa and Asia was critical to fully comprehending both regional records. This was the primary reason why we co-organized a symposium on Asian Paleoanthropology at the AAPA meeting in March 2007, which forms the foundation for this edited volume. Most of the presentations from that conference are chapters in this book.

Inhalt

Chapter 1: Asian Paleoanthropology: An Introduction 13
Introduction 13
Contents of This Volume 14
Theoretical Approaches, Expectations, and Re-Evaluations 14
The Current State of the Asian Paleoanthropological Record 15
Discussion 16
References 16
Chapter 2: The Colonization of “Savannahstan”: Issues of Timing(s) and Patterns of Dispersal Across Asia in the Late Pliocene a 18
Introduction 18
Problems with the “Out of Africa 1” Model 20
The Emergence and Consequences of Grasslands in Late Pliocene East Africa 20
The Development of “Savannahstan” – The Asian Grasslands 21
The Tibetan Plateau and the Grasslands of North China 21
The South Asian Grasslands and the Indian Monsoon 23
Central and Southwest Asia 23
Early Pleistocene Lakes in Asia 24
The Longevity and Importance of the Asian Grasslands 25
Sangiran: Were the Earliest Hominins Inhabiting a Swampy Estuary? 26
The Uncertain Origins and Distinctiveness of Homo erectus 27
The Origin of H. erectus: Africa or Asia? 27
The Dmanisi Hominins 28
Were Hominin Migrations Always One-Way from Africa to Asia? 28
Absence of Evidence and Evidence of Absence 29
Southwest Asia: The Black Hole of Paleoanthropology 30
Dispersal Events and the Importance of Absence of Evidence 31
Some Alternative Perspectives 32
An Ultra-Long Chronology: Hominins Have Been in Asia as long as in Africa 32
The Implications of A. bahrelghazali (Chad): Could Hominins Have Dispersed out of Africa c. 3.0–3.5 Ma? 32
The Implications of Kadar Gona (Ethiopia): Could Hominins Have Dispersed out of Africa c. 2.6 Ma? 33
Routes of Dispersal 33
Dispersals or Colonisation? 35
Summary 35
References 36
Chapter 3: On the Road to China: The Environmental Landscape of the Early Pleistocene in Western Eurasia and Its Implication 42
Introduction 42
The Use of Large Mammals to Identify Grasslands in Paleoecological Analysis 43
Indicator Species 44
Ecological Diversity Analysis 44
Community-Wide Taxonomic Diversity 44
Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites 44
Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Indicator Species Method 44
Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Ecological Diversity Method 45
Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Community-Wide Taxonomic Diversity Method 45
Are the Methods Discordant? 45
Can These Paleoecological Reconstructions Be Reconciled? 45
Discussion and Conclusion 48
References 49
Chapter 4: Africa and Asia: Comparisons of the Earliest Archaeological Evidence 52
Introduction 52
The Oldowan of Africa 52
An Asian Perspective on the Oldowan 53
The Context of the Asian Early Paleolithic 53
The Asian Early Paleolithic: Predictions and Current Data 54
Nihewan Basin 55
Discussion 56
Conclusion 57
References 57
Chapter 5: Inter-continental Variation in Acheulean Bifaces 60
Introduction 60
Geographic Regions 61
Eastern Africa 61
The Arabian Peninsula 62
The Indian Sub-continent 63
Eastern Asia 63
Analyses 63
Discussion 64
References 65
Chapter 6: Cranial Shape in Asian Homo erectus: Geographic, Anagenetic, and Size-Related Variation 67
Introduction 67
Materials 68
Methods 69
Data Acquisition and Processing 69
Study Design 72
Statistical Analysis 73
Visualization 74
Results 74
Neurocranium 74
Maximum Landmarks Analysis 74
Maximum Indonesians Analysis 76
Maximum Zhoukoudian Analysis 76
Indonesians Only Analysis 78
Frontal Bone Analysis 79
Temporal Base Analysis 81
Occipital Bone Analysis 83
Discussion: 84
Geographic Patterns of Variation 84
Size-Related and Temporal Variation 84
Variation Within Javanese Homo erectus 85
Relationships Among Javanese Homo erectus 86
Evidence for Separate Lineages in Java > 1 Ma
Conclusions 86
References 87
Chapter 7: Rethinking the Palearctic-Oriental Biogeographic Boundary in Quaternary China 90
Introduction 90
Chinese Quaternary Environment 90
Plio-Pleistocene Division 91
Quaternary Biogeography 91
Central-East China: A Migration Corridor? 94
Discussion 97
Conclusions 106
References 107
Chapter 8: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review 110
Introduction 110
Defining Central Asia: How Big Is It? 111
The Paleoclimate of Central Asia 111
Earliest Evidence of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia 112
The Late Pleistocene of Central Asia 114
Who Inhabited Central Asia During the Pleistocene? The Hominin Fossil Record 115
Concluding Remarks 118
References 119
Chapter 9: Core-and-Flake Assemblages of Central and Peninsular India 122
Introduction 122
Northern India 123
Central India 126
Western India 130
Eastern India 131
Southern India 131
Discussion 132
Conclusions 133
References 134
Chapter 10: South Asia as a Geographic Crossroad: Patterns and Predictions of Hominin Morphology in Pleistocene India 138
Introduction 138
Background 138
Middle Pleistocene Hominin Morphology in South Asia 139
Materials and Methods 140
Evolutionary Scenarios for H. heidelbergensis 143
Results 143
Discussion 145
Models and Predictions for South Asia 146
Conclusion 147
References 148
Chapter 11: Cranial Morphology and Variation of the Earliest Indonesian Hominids 151
Introduction 151
Materials and Methods 153
Materials 153
Comparative Samples and Data Collection 154
Analysis 154
Hypotheses To Be Tested 154
Test 1: Morphology of Trinil 2 and Sangiran 2 154
Test 2: Bp 9408 and Bu 9604 157
Bp 9408 158
Bu 9604 158
Summary 159
Test 3: Variation and Morphological Affinities of the Expanded Grenzbank/Sangiran Cranial Sample 159
Discussion 160
Question of Great Variation 161
Questions of Taxonomy and Evolutionary Grade 162
Dates of the Oldest Indonesian Hominids 162
Origins of the Robust Cranial Characteristics 162
Conclusions 163
References 163
Chapter 12: Central-East China – A Plio-Pleistocene Dispersal Corridor: The Current State of Evidence for Hominin Occupations 166
Introduction 166
Natural Barriers and Possible Migration Corridors 167
Through the Qinling Mountain Range 169
East of the Qinling Mountain Range 170
Discussion 172
Relatively Few Early and Middle Pleistocene Sites Have Been Identified in CE China 172
Many of the Existing Sites Require More Detailed Study 172
Conclusions 173
References 173
Chapter 13: The Earliest Hominin Occupations in the Nihewan Basin of Northern China: Recent Progress in Field Investigations 176
Introduction 176
Background 176
Chronology 178
The Lower Palaeolithic Sites 178
Xiaochangliang 178
Donggutuo 180
Dachangliang 180
Goudi (Majuangou III) 181
Lithic Technology of the Nihewan Hominins 182
Raw Material Procurement 182
Core Reduction 183
Flake-Tool Production 183
Tool Utilization 184
Discussion and Summary 184
References 186
Chapter 14: Peopling in the Korean Peninsula 188
Introduction 188
The Oldest Hominin Fossils from the Korean Peninsula 188
The Earliest Archaeological Sites 192
The Current State of Research on the Oldest Industries in Korea 192
Old Fashioned Artifacts in New Contexts 194
What Is the Age of the Earliest Occupation and What Types of Stone Industries Were Associated with This Earliest Dispersal? 195
References 195
Chapter 15: When Were the Earliest Hominin Migrations to the Japanese Islands? 198
Introduction 198
Vertebrate Paleontology 198
Pleistocene Hominin Fossils in Japan 199
Lithic Industries Older than c. 30 ka in Japan 201
The Earliest Site in Japan: Kanedori 202
Lithic Industries from the Kanedori Site 203
Tephrochronology at the Kanedori Site 204
Discussion 205
Conclusions 206
References 206

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 26.8.2010
• Reihe/Serie: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
• Reihe/Serie: Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology
• Zusatzinfo: XII, 216 p.
• Verlagsort: Dordrecht
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Archäologie
• Themenwelt: Studium ► 1. Studienabschnitt (Vorklinik) ► Biochemie / Molekularbiologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Ethnologie
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
• Themenwelt: Sozialwissenschaften ► Soziologie
• Themenwelt: Technik
• Schlagworte: Asia • Hominin evolution • Paleoanthropology • Paleolithic archaeology • Quaternary
• ISBN-10: 90-481-9094-0 / 9048190940
• ISBN-13: 978-90-481-9094-2 / 9789048190942