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The Fossil Evidence for
Human Evolution in China
Dennis A. Etler
[Last Update: October 25, 1996]
Click on image for article discussing
the Yunxian 2 specimen
Table of Contents
This page introduces the fossil evidence
for human evolution in China. At present it includes a catalog of Chinese
human fossil remains consisting of: a picture gallery of important fossil
specimens, maps detailing the distribution of human fossils, and a time
line; links to other relevant sites dealing with paleontology, human evolution
and Chinese prehistory; and other resources which may be useful for gaining
a better understanding of China's role in the emergence of humankind. More
features will be added in the near future
Catalog of Human Fossils from
The fossil record of human evolution in
China has increased dramatically within the last two decades. The following
resources are meant to introduce both earlier and more recent fossil hominid
discoveries from China. These include examples of the archaic human ancestor
H. erectus; pre-modern forms of H. sapiens, which are intermediate
in time and morphology between H. erectus and anatomically modern
people; and early forms of fully modern H. sapiens known from China.
In order to facilitate browsing this information you can go directly to
page one of the picture
gallery, or first go to the table
of fossil specimens and locate the specimen (cataloged by province)
you are interested in viewing, then click on its location name to jump
to the picture gallery, where a photo and caption are available. You can
also start out from the maps
page or time-line.
The latter two resources are client maintained "usemaps" configured for
PCs using Windows 3.1 and Netscape 3.0. They may not be operational with
other browsers or operating systems.
Position Papers and Full Length
The Fossil Evidence for Human Evolution in Asia - by Dennis A Etler.
A comprehensive review of all fossil hominids known from the Asian mainland
with a primary focus on China. Includes a discussion of various interpretive
paradigms of human evolution during the Pleistocene and the role Asia played
in the evolution of modern people.
The African Emergence and Early Asian Dispersals of the Genus Homo
- by Roy Larick and Russell L. Ciochon. This article, from the recent issue
of American Scientist, gives a full accounting of recent reinterpretations
of the Asian fossil human record based on new discoveries purported to
represent early Homo from Longgupo, Sichuan China and controversial
redatings of previously known hominids from Java. See the following position
paper by yours truly for a rebuttal.
Implications of New Fossil
Material Attributed to Plio-Pleistocene Asian Hominidae - by Dennis
A. Etler. Rebuttal to recent reports of the discovery of an early species
of the genus Homo from Longgupo, Sichuan, China (see article above
for a contrary interpretation).
Journal of NIH Research, January, 1996: Questions Surround Dispersed Hominids
- Another critical look at the recently announced fossil "hominid" from
Longgupo by Dr. Pat Shipman.
for Our Primate Ancestors in China - Chris Beard and Mary Dawson of
the Carnegie Museum and colleagues from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology
and Paleoanthropology in Beijing discovered fossils documenting an early
stage in the evolution of higher primates while working alongside the Yellow
River in central China. The 40 million-year-old primate (Eosimias centennicus),
represented by its complete lower jaws, supports the theory that the higher
primate lineage, which includes the distant ancestors of humans, split
off from all other primates about 55 million years ago, during the early
part of the Age of Mammals (from Carnagie Magazine On-line).
Race and Language in Prehistory
- Provocative essay by Prof. Vince Sarich of the University of California
at Berkeley on recent human phylogeny.
This Website is made possible by grants
from the National Science Foundation, the Committee on Scholarly Communication
with China and the L.S.B. Leakey Foundation. Its sponsoring organization,
the Center for Study of Chinese
Prehistory, is a non-profit, unincorporated California association.
More features to be added in the near
future include improved graphics (color pictures), pages describing the
Chinese Paleolithic and Neolithic, and a section reviewing research at
the H. erectus site in Yunxian, Hubei.
My research focuses on the paleoanthropology,
Paleolithic archeology and Quaternary geology of China. Here I am seated
with Prof. Jia Lanpo
(center) of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology,
and Prof. Li Tianyuan (right) of the Hubei Archeological Institute, in
Prof. Jia's study in Beijing.
suggestions for the improvement of this site are welcome.
Contents | Introduction
| Catalog | Picture
Gallery | Atlas
| Time Line | Papers
| Links | Pierre
Teilhard de Chardin | Forum
| Forum Log | CV
| Research | Acknowledgements
| Coming Attractions | WebMaster
Copyright © 1996 by Dennis A. Etler.
This site has been selected as a
HOT Anthropology Website
by the Anthro grads at the University of California,
"Only by integrating the past with the present
can we consciously create the future"--your WebMaster DAE
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