Juvenile hominoid cranium from the terminal Miocene of Yunnan,China

Fossil apes are known from several late Miocene localities in Yunnan Province,southwestern China,principally from Shihuiba(Lufeng)and the Yuanmou Basin,and represent three species of Lufengpithecus.They mostly comprise large samples of isolated teeth,but there are also several partial or complete adult crania from Shihuiba and a single juvenile cranium from Yuanmou.Here we describe a new,relatively complete and largely undistorted juvenile cranium from the terminal Miocene locality of Shuitangba,also in Yunnan.It is only the second ape juvenile cranium recovered from the Miocene of Eurasia and it is provisionally assigned to the species present at Shihuiba,Lufengpithecus lufengensis.Lufengpithecus has most often been linked to the extant orangutan,Pongo pygmaeus,but recent studies of the crania from Shihuiba and Yuanmou have demonstrated that this is unlikely.The new cranium reinforces the view that Lufengpithecus represents a distinct,late surviving lineage of large apes in the late Miocene of East Asia that does not appear to be closely affiliated with any extant ape lineage.It substantially increases knowledge of cranial morphology in Lufengpithecus and demonstrates that species of this genus represent a morphologically diverse radiation of apes,which is consistent with the dynamic tectonic and biotic milieu of southwestern China in the late Miocene.

Further geological and palaeoanthropological investigations at the Maludong hominin site, Yunnan Province, Southwest China

Three-dimensional mapping and section work undertaken by us in 2008 have identified 11 stratigraphic units at Maludong site.AMS radiocarbon dating of charcoal established an accurate and internally consistent age profile for the sequence of 17.8±0.2 ka to 13.2±0.1 ka.Archaeomagnetic analysis showed changes in externally derived pedogenically enhanced material consistent with a warming in climate between the cold period of Henrich Event 1 and the B lling-Aller d interstadial.Human remains recovered during the 1989 excavation were derived from a deposit dating to this interstadial,or between 14.3±0.3 ka and 13.5±0.1 ka.Anthropogenic features,including burnt rocks,baked sediment and thick charcoal and ash layers,were identified and examined through archaeomagnetic analysis.Two monkey fossils are described here,one of them being reassigned from Macaca robustus to M.aff.M.assamensis.They confirm the young age of the site and also show signs of anthropogenic alteration in the form of burning.Additional human cranial remains are reported for the first time and new data are provided for some specimens described previously.A range of new features is identified that strengthen the affinities of the Maludong remains to archaic humans.The presence of this globally unique mosaic of archaic and modern features raises important questions about human evolutionary history in East Asia during the Late Upper Pleistocene.

Prehistoric agriculture development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southwest China： Archaeobotanical evidence

The origin, development and expansion of prehistoric agriculture in East Asia have been widely investigated over the past two decades using archaeobotanical analysis from excavated Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Research on prehistoric agriculture has predominantly focused in the valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Agricultural development during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of southwest China, an important passageway for human migration into Southeast Asia, still remains unclear. In this paper, based on macrofossil and microfossil analysis and radiocarbon dating at the Shilinggang site, we investigate plant subsistence strategies in the Nujiang River valley during the Bronze Age period. Combined with previous archaeobotanical studies in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, we explore agricultural development processes in this area during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Our results indicate that rice and foxtail millet were cultivated in Shilinggang around 2500 cal a BP. Three phases of prehistoric agricultural development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau can be identified: rice cultivation from 4800–3900 cal a BP, mixed rice and millet crop(foxtail millet and broomcorn millet) cultivation from 3900–3400 cal a BP, and mixed rice, millet crop and wheat cultivation from 3400–2300 cal a BP. The development of agriculture in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods was primarily promoted by prehistoric agriculture expansion across Eurasia, agricultural expansion which was also affected by the topographic and hydrological characteristics of the area.

Fossil seeds of Euryale(Nymphaeaceae) indicate a lake or swamp environment in the late Miocene Zhaotong Basin of southwestern China

Euryale （Nymphaeaceae） is a monotypic genus distributed in eastern Asia, but fossils in its native distribu- tion are sparse as compared to Europe where the genus has disappeared. Here, we describe a new fossil species, Euryale yunnanensis sp. nov., from the late Miocene Zhaotong Basin in southwestern China on the basis of seed remains. Char- acteristics including an ellipsoidal to almost spherical shape, a smooth surface, a germination cap that covers the micro- pyle, the separation of the hilum and germination cap （mi- cropyle）, elliptic testa surface cells with undulate margins and thickened cell walls collectively indicate a close affinity with the genus Euryale in Nymphaeaceae. Comparisons of seed morphology and anatomy demonstrate that the newly described fossil species differs from modem and other fossil species of Euryale and thus verify the assignment to a new fossil species. As the modem Euryale is an aquatic plant, preferably living in swamps and lakes with shallow and stable water, we hypothesize that a lake and/or swamp environment with shallow water was present near Shui- tangba in the Zhaotong Basin, where the Shuitangba homi- noid lived during the late Miocene. This inference is generally consistent with paleoenvironmental data extracted from avian, fish, frog, turtle and crocodile fossils, as well as from aquatic pollen. The fossil history suggests a compara- tively recent （Miocene） emergence of Euryale, which is roughly in agreement with the divergence time inferred from the molecular information.

Maternal genetic history of southern East Asians over the past 12,000 years

Southern East Asia,including Guangxi and Fujian provinces in China,is home to diverse ethnic groups,languages,and cultures.Previous studies suggest a high complexity regarding population dynamics and the history of southern East Asians.However,large-scale genetic studies on ancient populations in this region are hindered by limited sample preservation.Here,using highly efficient DNA capture techniques,we obtain 48 complete mitochondrial genomes of individuals from Guangxi and Fujian in China and reconstruct their maternal genetic history over the past 12,000 years.We find a strong connection between southern East Asians dating to~12,000-6000 years ago and present-day Southeast Asians.In addition,stronger genetic affinities to northern East Asians are observed in historical southern East Asians than Neolithic southern East Asians,suggesting increased interactions between northern and southern East Asians over time.Overall,we reveal dynamic connections between ancient southern East Asians and populations located in surrounding regions,as well as a shift in maternal genetic structure within the populations over time.