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Wu X, Pei S, Cai Y, Tong H, Zhang Z, Yan Y, Xing S, Martinón-Torres M, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Liu W. Morphological and morphometric analyses of a late Middle Pleistocene hominin mandible from Hualongdong, China. J Hum Evol 2023; 182:103411. [PMID: 37531709 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Excavations in Hualongdong (HLD), East China, have yielded abundant hominin fossils dated to 300 ka. There is a nearly complete mandible that fits well with a partial cranium, and together they compose the skull labeled as HLD 6. Thus far, detailed morphological description and comparisons of the mandible have not been conducted. Here we present a comprehensive morphological, metric, and geometric morphometric assessment of this mandible and compare it with both adult and immature specimens of Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. Results indicate that the HLD 6 mandible exhibits a mosaic morphological pattern characterized by a robust corpus and relatively gracile symphysis and ramus. The moderately developed mental trigone and a clear anterior mandibular incurvation of the HLD 6 mandible are reminiscent of Late Pleistocene hominin and recent modern human morphology. However, the weak expression of all these features indicates that this mandible does not possess a true chin. Moreover, a suite of archaic features that resemble those of Middle Pleistocene hominins includes pronounced alveolar planum, superior transverse torus, thick corpus, a pronounced endocondyloid crest, and a well-developed medial pterygoid tubercle. The geometric morphometric analysis further confirms the mosaic pattern of the HLD 6 mandible. The combination of both archaic and modern human features identified in the HLD 6 mandible is unexpected, given its late Middle Pleistocene age and differs from approximately contemporaneous Homo members such as Xujiayao, Penghu, and Xiahe. This mosaic pattern has never been recorded in late Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblages in East Asia. The HLD 6 mandible provides further support for the high morphological diversity during late Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution. With these findings, it is possible that modern human morphologies are present as early as 300 ka and earlier than the emergence of modern humans in East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Shuwen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049, Xi'an, China
| | - Haowen Tong
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Ziliang Zhang
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Yi Yan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, 09002, Spain.
| | | | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.
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A Late Middle Pleistocene human tooth from the Luonan Basin (Shaanxi, China). J Hum Evol 2023; 178:103343. [PMID: 36917893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
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Ma X, Wang G, Wang M. Impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210029. [PMID: 35124998 PMCID: PMC8819365 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoya Ma
- Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Institute of Palaeontology, Yunnan University, Chenggong Campus, Kunming 650504, People's Republic of China.,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Guangxu Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Min Wang
- Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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