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Middle Pleistocene human cranium from Tangshan (Nanjing), Southeast China: A new reconstruction and comparisons with Homo erectus from Eurasia and Africa
Author(s) -
Liu Wu,
Zhang Yinyun,
Wu Xinzhi
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.20066
Subject(s) - homo erectus , pleistocene , china , early pleistocene , geography , east asia , paleontology , human evolution , geology , archaeology
The morphology and affinities of early and middle Pleistocene Homo erectus in East Asia have been explored since the late nineteenth century. A fragmentary hominid cranium (Nanjing no.1) recovered in Tangshan near Nanjing, China bears directly on these issues. In the present study, the morphological features of Nanjing no.1 are described and compared with Homo erectus from both Eurasia and Africa. Our results indicate that this middle Pleistocene hominid fossil should be referred to as Homo erectus . The sharing of typical Homo erectus features with African and European counterparts demonstrates that Homo erectus is a widely distributed lineage that evolved during the million years after its Pliocene origins. The differences between Nanjing no.1 and Zhoukoudian suggest certain level of regional variation in East Asian Homo erectus . Am J Phys Anthropol, 2005. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.