对陈家窝子、公王岭蓝田猿人的分类及地质时代问题的探讨

Discussion on the Taxonomy and Geologic Age of Homo erectus lantianensis from Chenjiawo and Gongwangling

1963～1964年,在陕西蓝田陈家窝子及公王岭发现的猿人下颌骨和头盖骨等化石,都被定名为蓝田猿人,时代为中更新世。实际上,不仅人类化石特征之间差别很大,其他有关方面也存在着显著的不同。综合分析各有关资料,陈、公二化石点的猿人不应属同一亚种。为反映二者的特点,建议分开命名。根据生物学命名法则,陈家窝子的猿人下颌骨仍用蓝田直立人Homo erectus lantianensis Woo,1964一名。即蓝田猿人。而公王岭的猿人头盖骨、上颌骨等应从原定的直立人蓝田亚种分出来,另建新亚种名——公王岭直立人Homo erectus gongwanglingensis(subsp.nov.),简称公王岭猿人。前者的时代为中更新世早期,距今60～65万年;后者的时代为早更新世晚期,距今110～115万年。

The discovery of Homo erectus lantianensis was an important event in paleoanthropology in the 1960 's (in association with the hominid fossils were two mammalian assemblages). But there are still some questions which have been talked and discussed after the publication of a series of papers on the study of the fossil specimens of Lantian. About the human fossils, the mandible from Chenjiawo shows more advanced characteristics, but the cranium from Gongwangling, more primitive. The features of the mammalian faunas associated with these hominids are different from each other in many important respects, which was chiefly caused by the different paleocnvironment and paleoclimate conditions in different geologic periods rather than by the geographical segregating in the same time. The fossil-bearing bed of Gongwangling is much lower than that of Chenjiawo. And the paleomagnetic date of the Gongwangling, 1.10-1,15 myr, is much older than that, 0.6-0.65 myr, of Chenjiawo 's. So, it is necessary and possible to divide Homo erectus lantianensis into two subspecies: Homo erectus lantianensis Woo, 1963 and Homo erectus gongwanglingensis (subsp. nov.). The former is characteristics by the mandible from Chenjiawo, which, according to the law of priority, still retains the original name; the latter, by the cranium from Gongwangling, which is a new subspecies namc proposed by the author of this paper.