The rainfall changes in East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)regions on the orbital timescale remain controversial due to the lack of reliable rainfall records.Here,we present new multiproxy records(δ^(18)O,δ^(13)C,Sr/Ca ...The rainfall changes in East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)regions on the orbital timescale remain controversial due to the lack of reliable rainfall records.Here,we present new multiproxy records(δ^(18)O,δ^(13)C,Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca)of a230Thdated stalagmite from Hulu Cave in central eastern China.Multiproxy records reconstruct a regional hydroclimate history from 340 to 261 kyr BP(thousand years before present),approximately covering the antepenultimate glacial period.Theδ^(18)O record is dominated by the precessional cycles,suggesting that EASM responds to changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation(NHSI)on the orbital timescale.Significant correlations amongst theδ^(13)C,Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca suggest that a common factor,i.e.,the local hydrological cycle,controlled their variability,and their leading principal component can be used as a proxy linked to regional rainfall.This composite record bears a good similarity to those from the Chinese Loess Plateau,showing a gradually decreasing rainfall during the antepenultimate glacial period,consistent with changes in global ice volume.Superimposed on the long-term trend,three relative wetter intervals were responding to the higher NHSI periods,suggesting that EASM rainfall variability was induced by integrated effects of global ice volume and NHSI.The increased ice sheets and lower NHSI resulted in an increased meridional temperature gradient and southward shift of the westerlies,which shortened the duration of Meiyu and midsummer rainfall.The differences between the rainfall record and the stalagmiteδ^(18)O record indicate that the latter represents the overall EASM intensity linked to monsoon circulation,but does not directly reflect the rainfall changes at the cave sites.展开更多
It has recently become clear that several human lineages coexisted with Homo sapiens during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene.Here,we report an archaic human fossil that throws new light on debates concerning the d...It has recently become clear that several human lineages coexisted with Homo sapiens during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene.Here,we report an archaic human fossil that throws new light on debates concerning the diversification of the Homo genus and the origin of H.sapiens.The fossil was recovered in Harbin city in northeastern China,with a minimum uranium-series age of 146 ka.This cranium is one of the best preserved Middle Pleistocene human fossils.Its massive size,with a large cranial capacity(1,420 mL)falling in the range of modern humans,is combined with a mosaic of primitive and derived characters.It differs from all the other named Homo species by presenting a combination of features,such as long and low cranial vault,a wide and low face,large and almost square orbits,gently curved but massively developed supraorbital torus,flat and low cheekbones with a shallow canine fossa,and a shallow palate with thick alveolar bone supporting very large molars.The excellent preservation of the Harbin cranium advances our understanding of several less-complete late Middle Pleistocene fossils from China,which have been interpreted as local evolutionary intermediates between the earlier species Homo erectus and later H.sapiens.Phylogenetic analyses based on parsimony criteria and Bayesian tip-dating suggest that the Harbin cranium and some other Middle Pleistocene human fossils from China,such as those from Dali and Xiahe,form a third East Asian lineage,which is a part of the sister group of the H.sapiens lineage.Our analyses of such morphologically distinctive archaic human lineages from Asia,Europe,and Africa suggest that the diversification of the Homo genus may have had a much deeper timescale than previously presumed.Sympatric isolation of small populations combined with stochastic long-distance dispersals is the best fitting biogeographical model for interpreting the evolution of the Homo genus.展开更多
As one of the most complete archaic human fossils,the Harbin cranium provides critical evidence for studying the diversification of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens.However,the unsystematic recovery of th...As one of the most complete archaic human fossils,the Harbin cranium provides critical evidence for studying the diversification of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens.However,the unsystematic recovery of this cranium and a long and confused history since the discovery impede its accurate dating.Here,we carried out a series of geochemical analyses,including non-destructive X-ray fluorescence(XRF),rare earth elements(REE),and the Sr isotopes,to test the reported provenance of the Harbin cranium and get better stratigraphic constraints.The results show that the Harbin cranium has very similar XRF element distribution patterns,REE concentration patterns,and Sr isotopic compositions to those of the Middle Pleistocene-Holocene mammalian and human fossils recently recovered from the Harbin area.The sediments adhered in the nasal cavity of the Harbin cranium have a 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.711898,falling in the variation range measured in a core drilled near the Dongjiang Bridge,where the cranium was discovered during its reconstruction.The regional stratigraphic correlations indicate that the Harbin cranium was probably from the upper part of the Upper Huangshan Formation of the Harbin area,which has an optically stimulated luminescence dating constraint between 138 and 309 ka.U-series disequilibrium dating(n=10)directly on the cranium suggests that the cranium is older than 146 ka.The multiple lines of evidence from our experiments consistently support the theory that the Harbin cranium is from the late Middle Pleistocene of the Harbin area.Our study also shows that geochemical approaches can provide reliable evidence for locating and dating unsystematically recovered human fossils,and potentially can be applied to other human fossils without clear provenance and stratigraphy records.展开更多
基金supported by the National Nature Science Fundation of China(Grant Nos.42002200&42071105)the Open Fund for the State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology(Grant No.SKLLQG1922)+1 种基金the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission(Grant No.KJQN201900536)the Chongqing Nature Science Fund(Grant No.cstc2020jcyj-msxm X0598)。
文摘The rainfall changes in East Asian summer monsoon(EASM)regions on the orbital timescale remain controversial due to the lack of reliable rainfall records.Here,we present new multiproxy records(δ^(18)O,δ^(13)C,Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca)of a230Thdated stalagmite from Hulu Cave in central eastern China.Multiproxy records reconstruct a regional hydroclimate history from 340 to 261 kyr BP(thousand years before present),approximately covering the antepenultimate glacial period.Theδ^(18)O record is dominated by the precessional cycles,suggesting that EASM responds to changes in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation(NHSI)on the orbital timescale.Significant correlations amongst theδ^(13)C,Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca suggest that a common factor,i.e.,the local hydrological cycle,controlled their variability,and their leading principal component can be used as a proxy linked to regional rainfall.This composite record bears a good similarity to those from the Chinese Loess Plateau,showing a gradually decreasing rainfall during the antepenultimate glacial period,consistent with changes in global ice volume.Superimposed on the long-term trend,three relative wetter intervals were responding to the higher NHSI periods,suggesting that EASM rainfall variability was induced by integrated effects of global ice volume and NHSI.The increased ice sheets and lower NHSI resulted in an increased meridional temperature gradient and southward shift of the westerlies,which shortened the duration of Meiyu and midsummer rainfall.The differences between the rainfall record and the stalagmiteδ^(18)O record indicate that the latter represents the overall EASM intensity linked to monsoon circulation,but does not directly reflect the rainfall changes at the cave sites.
基金This project has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41842039,41625005,41888101,41988101,41877430,41977380)the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)(XDB26030300,XDA20070203,XDA19050100)+3 种基金the People’s Government of Hebei Province(Z20177187)the China Geological Survey(DD20190601)the Science Foundation of Hebei GEO University(TS2017-001)the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(2019QZKK0705).
文摘It has recently become clear that several human lineages coexisted with Homo sapiens during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene.Here,we report an archaic human fossil that throws new light on debates concerning the diversification of the Homo genus and the origin of H.sapiens.The fossil was recovered in Harbin city in northeastern China,with a minimum uranium-series age of 146 ka.This cranium is one of the best preserved Middle Pleistocene human fossils.Its massive size,with a large cranial capacity(1,420 mL)falling in the range of modern humans,is combined with a mosaic of primitive and derived characters.It differs from all the other named Homo species by presenting a combination of features,such as long and low cranial vault,a wide and low face,large and almost square orbits,gently curved but massively developed supraorbital torus,flat and low cheekbones with a shallow canine fossa,and a shallow palate with thick alveolar bone supporting very large molars.The excellent preservation of the Harbin cranium advances our understanding of several less-complete late Middle Pleistocene fossils from China,which have been interpreted as local evolutionary intermediates between the earlier species Homo erectus and later H.sapiens.Phylogenetic analyses based on parsimony criteria and Bayesian tip-dating suggest that the Harbin cranium and some other Middle Pleistocene human fossils from China,such as those from Dali and Xiahe,form a third East Asian lineage,which is a part of the sister group of the H.sapiens lineage.Our analyses of such morphologically distinctive archaic human lineages from Asia,Europe,and Africa suggest that the diversification of the Homo genus may have had a much deeper timescale than previously presumed.Sympatric isolation of small populations combined with stochastic long-distance dispersals is the best fitting biogeographical model for interpreting the evolution of the Homo genus.
基金This project has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41977380,41877430,41842039,41625005,41888101,41988101)the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS XDB26030400,XDB26030300,XDA20070203,XDA19050100)+3 种基金the People’s Government of Hebei Province(Z20177187)the China Geological Survey(DD20190601)the Science Foundation of Hebei GEO University(TS2017-001)the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(2019QZKK0705)。
文摘As one of the most complete archaic human fossils,the Harbin cranium provides critical evidence for studying the diversification of the Homo genus and the origin of Homo sapiens.However,the unsystematic recovery of this cranium and a long and confused history since the discovery impede its accurate dating.Here,we carried out a series of geochemical analyses,including non-destructive X-ray fluorescence(XRF),rare earth elements(REE),and the Sr isotopes,to test the reported provenance of the Harbin cranium and get better stratigraphic constraints.The results show that the Harbin cranium has very similar XRF element distribution patterns,REE concentration patterns,and Sr isotopic compositions to those of the Middle Pleistocene-Holocene mammalian and human fossils recently recovered from the Harbin area.The sediments adhered in the nasal cavity of the Harbin cranium have a 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.711898,falling in the variation range measured in a core drilled near the Dongjiang Bridge,where the cranium was discovered during its reconstruction.The regional stratigraphic correlations indicate that the Harbin cranium was probably from the upper part of the Upper Huangshan Formation of the Harbin area,which has an optically stimulated luminescence dating constraint between 138 and 309 ka.U-series disequilibrium dating(n=10)directly on the cranium suggests that the cranium is older than 146 ka.The multiple lines of evidence from our experiments consistently support the theory that the Harbin cranium is from the late Middle Pleistocene of the Harbin area.Our study also shows that geochemical approaches can provide reliable evidence for locating and dating unsystematically recovered human fossils,and potentially can be applied to other human fossils without clear provenance and stratigraphy records.
