古代中国人种成分研究

THE STUDY OF THE RACIAL ELEMENTS OF ANCIENT CHINA

古代和现代人的人种学问题,即对现代各色人种的起源和分化的研究,是体质人类学的重要组成部分。科学地阐明人种的起源和发展,不仅是体质人类学的一项重要任务,而且同探讨人类文明的产生和发展,批判古代和现代各种形式的种族主义观点有密切的关系。

The main results of a paleoanthropological study of the middle-late Paleolithic to Neolith- ic and Bronze ages of China are introduced in this article.Some problems concerning the com- position of China's pre-bronze age racial character are discussed in detail. According to the morphology of early Homo sapiens fossils discovered in late middle to early late Pleistocene contexts in China,these later hominids displary trait similar to those of Homo erectus fossils from the same area.However,they show a developing racial tendency dif- ferent from Homo spiens in the West. Dali Man,Xujiayao Man,Maba Man and so on are representatives of North and South Chi- nese early Homo sapiens.They already display certain morphological traits characteristic of the Mongoloid race.The argument suggesting the Mongoloid race originated from Homo erectus pekinensis,proposed by F.Weidenreich,will be supported while some of his ideas about the emergence of the Chinese race will be corrected by new discoveries. The morphology of Homo sapiens fossils from the late Pleistocene shows areal differen- tiation within Mongoloid population.The cranial morphology of the Upper Cave Man is clo- ser to that of modern North Asian Mongoloids,circumpolar peoples and American Indians. The skull of Liujiang Man from South China is more similar to those of Southern Mongoloids. This means that Mongoloid polymorphism already existed in an early stage of its development. It is called the'primitive Mongoloid type'or'Mongoloid in the making'by some scientists. The physical character of Neolithic and Bronze Age populations is closer to that of mode- rn racial types in the same area.Neolithic populations in the Huanghe valley are closer to Eastern or Southern Mongoloids,and the Bronze Age populations are closer to Eastern Mongo- loids.The populations of the early and late Neolithic in South China are closer to Southern Mo- ngoloids,and even display certain clear racial characters of the Negro-Australoid race.The po- pulations of the Bronze Age or later found in north and northeast China exhibit usually Mon- goloid characters or a mixiture of North and East Asian Mongoloid traits. No remains of Neolithic humans have been found in the north-west frontier area.Accor- ding to linguistic materials,ancient populations in Xinjiang belonged to the Caucasoid race.This is also demonstrated by human bones and mummies unearthed from graves in the area. Although some scientists thought that the ancient populations in the Chinese central pla- ins were closer to Southern Mongoloids,no evidence indicates that this is the result of a mixtu- re of Mongoloid and Negroid racial characters.It is possible that they inherited the characters of their Paleolithic ancestors and did not migrate from South China.Neolithic populations in South China are more closely related to late Homo sapiens in the same area,and lack enough typical morphology of the Mongoloids. Based on the measurements of the skull and statistical analysis,the cranial characters of different groups of Neolithic populations in the Huanghe valley are more closely related to each other than to different groups of modern populations in the same area. The morphological distance between the skulls of Bronze Age and modern populations in North China is smaller than between Bronze Age and Neolithic populations.It is suggested that the populations of the Bronze Age in North China are the direct ancestors of modern popula- tions in the same area. Up to now,we haven't discovered any human bones which confirm Caucasoid character brfore the Neolithic age.Many years ago,D.Black mentioned three'X-type'skulls when he studied the bones of prehistoric population of Gansu,but this idea was later disconted by Black himself.Two Caucasoid skulls mentioned by Yang Ximei in the third subgroup of human bones from the sacrificial pits of Shang Dynasty,Xibeigang,Anyang,have of a series of characters typi- cal of Eastern Mongoloids. It is doubtful that there were racial elements of Pacific Negroids in the sacrificial pits me- ntioned above.The human bones of the Neolithic of South China,according to our study clearly display both Mongoloid and Pacific Negroid characters.This situation already existed,in the skull of the late Paleolithic Liujiang Man.Thus,we think that it is the continuation of polymo- rphism of physical evolution which existed in Paleolithic Mongoloids.It canot be concluded that the populations with Negro-Australoid elements had been distributed in South China before the Neolithic or was the result of a mixture of two principal races. In general,the ancient civillzation of China emerged in relative isolation from the other main reces of the Peleolithic.Neolithic and Bronze Age.Concerning the origin and develop- ment of the ancient civilization of China,no concrete evidence exists which would indicate the Chinese race originated from the West.