Beijing, China (AHN) - Chinese archeologists have concluded that the two million years old human fossils found in Wushan County, Chongqing municipality from 1985 to 1988 belong to the earliest human species in China.
The lower jawbone fragment, an incisor and more than 230 pieces of stone tools of the so-called Wushan Man pre-dated the fossils of the Yuanmou Man by 300,000 years, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported.
The Yuanmou Man was discovered in southwestern Yunnan Province in the 1960s. It was previously regarded as the oldest human species found in China.
Huang Wanbo, a professor with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said various dating techniques corroborated earlier findings that the geological layer containing the Wushan Man fossils and artifacts is two to 2.04 million years old.
Huang said his team of experts dug up and examined more stone tools and animal fossils at the Longgupo Site in Wushan Mountain during excavations from 1997 to 1999 and 2003 to 2006. British, Canadian and French experts joined Chinese archeologists in the diggings.
The professor said more diggings at Longgupo will be done next year to find more evidence.
The Wushan man is older than Dmanisi man by about 100,000 yrs. It will be interesting to see how soon skeletal differences form in the Far East region. As soon as I can find any description of skull type I'll post it.
kbs2244 wrote:Ah, as the old walls crumble, the things we learn that were behind them.
“Pre-date the previous by 300,000 years?”
How far back was the previous?
Well, in my elementary school I learnt that 2 million less 300,000 = 1.7 million years BP . . . ?
But apparently they didn't teach you that at your elementary school . . . ?
kbs2244 wrote:I aways had trouble with negitive numbers and decimal pionts.
So why do you care about "how much previous"? Because if you have "trouble with negitive numbers and decimal pionts" the answer to that question still doesn't mean anything to you either way . . .
"In comparison to Beijing Man, Wushan's Homo Erectus bore many similarities to modern humans. For example, their teeth resembled those of modern humans, although they were much stronger, although not as strong as those of Beijing Man."
Very interesting since 2 million years ago is quite early for H. erectus to be OOA. I'm having cognitive dissonance regarding OOA again. Chris, where are you? Read me a bedtime story to make me feel better about all this, OK?
Expect any day another report which "sounds the death knell" of multi-regionalism.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
They found more stone tools and animal fossils dating back 2 million years in the same stratigraphic interval in which Wushan Man fossils were found before and also in the upper layers.
"The most important findings are the many leg fossils of animals, such as the elephant, rhinoceros and deer fossils we found in an area of no more than two square meters," said Huang.
"It is not natural that the fossils, all legs, were arranged in layers in such a small space. Only an animal with thinking capacity could do it in that way," he said.
Located in Wushan Mountain, the Longgupo Site is considered one of the best-preserved Paleolithic sites in China and even in Asia, with a wealth of primitive cultural relics.
Huang said they plan a fourth excavation next year which is expected to yield more evidence.
Another article on Wushan man. And I don't think it takes a lot of brains to think "trash is that way", and throw a leg bone. But interesting.
"Chinese scientists ... suggest a parallel hominin emergence in East Asia. In their view, a ten-million-year-old forest ape was the putative ancestor of H. erectus, orangutans, and the extinct Gigantopithecus, the largest ape that ever lived. With Longgupo's primitive teeth and Renzidong's ancient stone tools, the Asian hypothesis is gaining (mostly Chinese) converts."
The East-West debate over the origin of the Asian H. erectus continues to march forward as older finds in China arise.
Who is to say that prior versions were not driven by politics, or at least ideology, as well.
As long as the Chinese keep coming up with fossil evidence and can get a consensus on dating I'm all for letting them dig to their heart's content.
Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed.
The Chinese have an uphill climb I think, if they want to establish an Out of China theory. Fortunately, from what I have read, there are international science teams assisting them. That may help against charges of politically driven conclusions.
I still believe the first hominids came from Africa, in great antiquity. How long would it take to evolve a completely different blood type from Type O? One in Europe and one in China. I think a loooong time.
