魏敦瑞对北京猿人化石的研究及其人类演化理论

ON WEIDENREICH S WORK OF SINANTHROPUS PEKINENSIS AND HIS THEORIES OF HUMAN ORIGINS

魏敦瑞对中国猿人（现为直立人北京亚种），化石作了详尽而深入的描述并指出了直立人的典型特征。他正确地推测， 在从猿到人的演化过程中首先是直立姿势的采用， 跟着是头骨的变化， 脑的扩张是头骨变化的动因。本世纪前半叶， 魏敦瑞第一次用一个图将所有已知的人类化石集合在一起， 作系统排列的尝试， 来表示整个人类的演化过程。他相信所有化石人类属于一个种， 能够互相杂交， 人类不是起源于一个地方， 而是起源于几个地方。他反对南方古猿曾经参与人类进化的说法， 代之以认为人类进化的早先各期是巨人阶段， 但是他的巨人理论迄今没有化石的证据。关于现代人的起源，

Weidenreich made a detailed in\|depth description of the fossils of Sinanthropus pekinensis (now Homo erectus pekinensis) and pointed out the characteristic features of Homo erectus. He rightly postulated that the adoption of erect posture was achieved first and the transformation of skull followed.Brain enlargement was the motive cause of the change of skull as illustrated by the different sizes of dogs.\;Weidenreich was the first man in history in the first half of the present century attempting to correlate all human fossils yet found in the world with a chart.He believed all fossil humans belonging to one species and could interbreed each other.Man did not originate from one place but several places.He rejected the Australopithecine fossils then found in south Africa playing any post in human evolution and instead suggested a giant phase as the first human period.\;His giant theory of origin of man so far has no fossil evidence.As to the origin of mo\| dern man, the Multiregional hypothesis and the Out of Africa one are now in hot debate.