泥河湾盆地马圈沟遗址哺乳动物破碎长骨反映的古人类行为

Behavior of the ancient humans as reflected by the broken long bones of mammals from the Majuangou site,Nihewan Basin

马圈沟遗址是东北亚地区年代最古老的旧石器时代遗址之一,出土了大量石制品及动物化石,现已发现并确认距今1.76~1.26 Ma之间的17个不同阶段的文化层,为探讨早更新世东北亚地区最早人类的扩散与生存适应方式提供了关键材料。本文以距今1.66 Ma的马圈沟遗址第3文化层2001~2003年出土的大、中型哺乳动物长骨为研究材料,开展骨骼破碎方式的分析。研究表明,这批长骨化石以残段及残片为主,通过对它们的断口形态和质地,特别是破裂断口的角度进行测量、统计以及分析,发现大多数长骨是在新鲜状况下破裂的,而古人类很可能是敲碎骨骼和取食骨髓的主体;食肉类动物也造成了一些骨骼的破裂,但应该发生在古人类的行为之后。本文是首次对中国北方早更新世遗址出土动物骨骼的破碎方式进行的系统分析,为讨论早更新世古人类与食肉类的互动关系提供了新的线索。

The Early Pleistocene site of Majuangou,one of the earliest hominin sites in northeast Asia is dated to 1.76-1.26 MaBP.Excavations revealed 17 stratigraphic layers showing evidence of hominin activities including lithic artefacts and animal fossils,offering compelling evidence of the earliest human subsistence in high latitude regions of northeast Asia.Among them,Layer 3(MJG-3)was estimated to be 1.66 MaBP.The present study focuses on long bone fragments of large and medium-sized mammals recovered from MJG-3 between 2001 and 2003,with the goal of understanding taphonomic process of faunal assemblages.Breakage analysis,including fragmentation,weathering stages,long bone breakage patterns are reported.It shows that most long bones have green fractures.The recorded fracture angles provide data about initial consumption of bone marrow.We argue that hominins had primary access to carcasses by means of marrow extraction,while carnivores scavenged the leftovers.The systematic analysis of breaking patterns of long bones are applied here,offering evidence of hominin-carnivore interaction in Early Pleistocene in northeast Asia.