The fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary sequences in the Nihewan Basin,northern China,are important for studying Quaternary land mammal evolution and Paleolithic settlements in the high-latitude temperate East Asia.Here we report new magnetostratigraphic results that constrain age of the Hougou Paleolithic site in this basin.Magnetite and hematite were identified as carriers of the characteristic remanent magnetizations,with the former being dominant.Magnetic polarity stratigraphy shows that the Hougou sequence recorded the very late Matuyama reverse chron and the Brunhes normal chron.The age of the Hougou Paleolithic site was estimated to be 395 ka based on an averaged rate of sediment accumulation.The combination of our magnetostratigraphy and previously published chronological data for early Paleolithic or human sites in the high-latitude northern China may document a persistent colonization of the hostile high-latitude areas of the eastern Old World during the middle-early Pleistocene.
A comprehensive database of paleoenvironmental settings for paleoanthropological sites provides a useful tool ...
WU ChunLin~(1,2),ZHANG Yan~1,LI Qin~1,GUO ZhengTang~(1*) & GAO Xing~3 1 Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment,Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029, China
In order to provide direct evidence for the use of fire by humans at Locality 1,Zhoukoudian,we examine the burnt and unburnt sediments of newly excavated area in Layer 4 by detailed measurements of magnetic susceptibility,color,and diffuse reflectance spectrum.Results show that the magnetic susceptibility and redness of the burnt sediments are remarkably higher than those of other areas on the same level:up to*22 times for magnetic susceptibility and*3 times for redness of those of the adjacent unburnt sediments.Fine-grained(superparamagnetic/stable single-domain)magnetite and hematite grains make dominant contributions to the distinctly high values of magnetic susceptibility and redness in the burnt sediments.Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results show that the burnt sediments contain more hematite than those of other areas and localities 2 and 3.High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that the burnt sediments have been heated above 700°C.Those changes in low-frequency magnetic susceptibility and redness are impossibly resulted from natural fires,thus most likely signaling the human activities of controlled use of fire.However,further work is needed to confirm whether or not these heat-affected sediments were produced in situ.
The Nihewan Basin(around 40°N,North China)is a major focus of investigations into hominid occupation in the ea...
Hong Ao Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory(SKL-LE),Institute of Geology and Geophysics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100029,China Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology,Institute of Earth Environment,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Xian 710075,China Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100049,China
In order to provide direct evidence for the use of fire by humans at Locality 1,Zhoukoudian,we examine the burnt and unburnt sediments of newly excavated area in Layer 4 by detailed measurements of magnetic susceptibility,color,and diffuse reflectance spectrum.Results show that the magnetic susceptibility and redness of the burnt sediments are remarkably higher than those of other areas on the same level:up to*22 times for magnetic susceptibility and*3 times for redness of those of the adjacent unburnt sediments.Fine-grained(superparamagnetic/stable single-domain)magnetite and hematite grains make dominant contributions to the distinctly high values of magnetic susceptibility and redness in the burnt sediments.Diffuse reflectance spectroscopy results show that the burnt sediments contain more hematite than those of other areas and localities 2 and 3.High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements demonstrate that the burnt sediments have been heated above 700°C.Those changes in low-frequency magnetic susceptibility and redness are impossibly resulted from natural fires,thus most likely signaling the human activities of controlled use of fire.However,further work is needed to confirm whether or not these heat-affected sediments were produced in situ.
For decades,the so-called Peking Man(Homo erectus pekinensis)at Zhoukoudian has been considered to be a hominin that engaged in the controlled production and management of fire.However,relatively recent analyses have cast doubt on this assertion.The most compelling reason for this doubt was the absence of siliceous aggregates in the Zhoukoudian deposits.This study presents evidence establishing the controlled use of fire by Homo erectus pekinensis through analyses of four soil samples sourced from Layers 4 and 6 at Zhoukoudian Locality 1.These results demonstrate that all four specimens contain siliceous aggregates as well as elemental carbon,and the potassium content of the insoluble residues of these specimens ranges between 1.21%and 2.94%.The analyses provide strong evidence of the in situ use of fire by Homo erectus pekinensis.
A comprehensive database of paleoenvironmental settings for paleoanthropological sites provides a useful tool to explore the link between human evolution and paleoenvironmental changes. A preliminary GIS-based environmental database for paleoanthropological sites in China (EDPC) was constructed based on data collected from published literature. The database currently contains 1114 paleoanthropological sites. It will be available for online access following the establishment of relevant rules, and after improvement and further development through regular and sustained updates by internal and external users. Preliminary analyses using the GIS system yielded new evidence regarding human-environmental relationships.
