瑞典乌布萨拉大学博物馆藏品中新发现北京人牙齿化石

New Tooth of Peking Man Recognized in the Museum of Evolution of Uppsala University

曾被命名为中国猿人北京种(Sinanthropus pekinensis)的直立人北京种(Homo erectus pekinensis)(北京人)化石是当时世界上具有最为可靠发掘记录的古人类化石。1941年大部分北京人化石丢失,仅存的当时发掘出土具有鉴定价值的人类化石为保存在瑞典乌布萨拉大学古生物博物馆的3枚北京人牙齿。2011年在瑞典乌布萨拉大学古生物博物馆保存的周口店发掘出土的化石中新发现了一枚北京人牙齿化石。本文报道了这枚新发现的北京人牙齿化石并回顾了此前发现的3枚北京人牙齿化石的历史。这4枚人类牙齿化石代表了在周口店最早发现了的直立人牙齿化石。

Peking Man, originally named Sinanthropus pekinensis and now known as Homo erectus pekinensis, was among the best documented extinct hominids before the catastrophic loss of almost all the material in 1941. The only diagnostic specimens to survive from the original excavations are some teeth in the paleontological collections of Uppsala University, Sweden(PMU). Here we report on the discovery of a new tooth in the PMU collection with notes on the history?of?the?three?previously?known?teeth.?Together?they?represent?the?first?four?specimens?of?Peking Man ever collected.