现代中国人眼眶的形态变异

Variation of Orbital Shape in Modern Chinese

研究证实人类骨性[眶形态具有明显的]化变化,在现代人群之间的表现也有一定程度的差别,因而[眶形态是研究人类]化及现代人群关系的重要特征之一。但是,学术界对与眼眶形态有关的许多问题还不是很清楚,或有争议。基于这一情况,本文对3项代表眼眶形态的性状在五组全新世近代—现代人群中的表现情况进行了观测,并结合对比了部分更新世晚期人类化石标本。本文研究发现:在中国地区,人类[眶的高低变异在]化过程中具有明显的时代变化,从新石器时代起出现了区域性的差异,并一直延续到现代;方形眼眶应该是中国人群较稳定的连续性特征,其高出现率从更新世一直延续到现代;在中国人群中,眼眶外下侧缘圆钝这一特征应该也是从更新世一直延续到现代的,但是其高出现率则只维持到新石器时代为止。

In general, the orbit exhibits evolutionary trends and geographical variation in different populations of anatomically modern humans. The shape and size of the orbit are features that are important to human evolutionary research and to studies on familial relationship between human populations, and yet there are disagreements in how to interpret this data. In the present study, several features reflecting orbital shape were measured and observed in five modern Chinese populations, and in some late Pleistocene human fossils. The results of this research are： 1 ） in Chinese populations, the orbital size has experienced temporal changes during the evolutionary processes, and that there is clear regional variation in these changes since Neolithic to modern time; 2） the quadrate-shaped orbit has high frequency in Chinese populations since the Pleistocene and thus is probably a continuous and steady feature in this sample; 3 ） rounding of the orbital infero-lateral margin has remained present since the Pleistocene, but its high frequency seemed to end in the Neolithic.