New progress in understanding the origins of modern humans in China

Hypotheses concerning the origins of modern humans have been intensively debated, and two competing models, the recent "Out-of-Africa" and "Multiregional Evolution" paradigms, have dominated research and discussions for decades. Evidence from China has played a fundamental role in this debate: regional continuity and replacement by populations in-migrated from Africa have both been suggested and supported mainly by paleoanthropologists and geneticists, respectively. As more evidence has accumulated, new results obtained, and more scholars from various disciplines become involved, supporters of the recent "Out-of-Africa" model agree more or less with the "Multiregional Evolution" model regarding the complex history of modern humans and their interbreeding with other archaic populations(e.g., Neandertals). Recent discoveries of new human fossils, Paleolithic archaeological materials, and ancient DNA evidence in China have yielded a large body of information regarding the formation and development of modern humans in this region. However, controversies continue, including that most molecular biologists insist on the replacement of archaic populations by modern humans dispersed from Africa, while most paleoanthropologists and archaeologists propose an enhanced "Continuity with Hybridization" model. In this paper, we compile new results and progress in China and present the current debates and issues on the origins of modern humans. Finally, we offer several suggestions for future studies.

Y-chromosome haplotype distribution in Han Chinese populations and modern human origin in East Asians

We investigated the distribution of Y-chromosome haplotype using 19 Y-SNPs in Han Chinese populations from 22 provinces of China. Our data indicate distinctive patterns of Y chromosome between southern and northern Han Chinese populations. The southern populations are much more polymorphic than northern populations. The latter has only a subset of the southern haplotypes. This result confirms the genetic difference observed between southern and northern ethnic populations in East Asia. It supports the hypothesis that the first settlement of modern hu-mans of African origin occurred in the southern part of East Asia during the last Ice Age, and a northward migration led to the peopling of northern China.

Revisiting the origin of modern humans in China and its implications for global human evolution

The debates over the origin of modern humans have long been centered on two competing theories:the "Out-of-Africa"(single-place origin) theory and the "Multi-regional Evolution" theory.China is an extremely important region where many ancient human fossils were collected along with numerous associated faunal remains and artefacts.These cultural remains,unearthed from different areas in the country and covering a long time span,will help clarify the controversy.The study of cultural materials in China is expected to shed important light on biological evolutionary patterns and social and technical developments of those early humans as well as their environmental conditions.Based on the analysis of Chinese fossils and associated materials,in conjunction with some genetic studies,this paper aims at evaluating each of the two theories in order to stimulate more discussions.Our study suggests that the evolutionary model of "Continuity with Hybridization" is most relevant in reflecting the current understanding of human evolutionary history in China.Furthermore,we propose that the concept of regional diversity of evolutionary models should be seriously considered to illustrate different evolutionary modes applied to different parts of the world.

Origin of modern humans in East Asia:clues from the Y chromosome

East Asia is one of the most important regions for studying modern human origin and evolution.A lot of efforts have been made to detect the genetic diversity and to reconstruct the evolutionary history of East Asians,especially using Y chromosome genetic data,in recent years.The Y chromosome data supports the African origin of modern humans in East Asia and the later migration to East Asia through the southern tropic coastline route,and then the northward migration occurred,leading to peopling of the main continent.The genetic data of the Y chromosome reflects a clear prehistoric evolution and migration course of East Asians.As well,the Y chromosome data of East Asians provides clues to elucidate modern human origins and evolution in the neighboring regions,i.e.America,Oceania and the Pacific Islands.