南京汤山驼子洞早更新世哺乳动物群的新材料及其古环境探讨

继2000年在南京汤山直立人地点葫芦洞附近的驼子洞堆积(32°03′17.1″N,119°01 ′57.6″E)中发现了大量的哺乳动物化石后,2007年在驼子洞又进行了新的发掘工作,出土了不少新材料.根据对新材料的研究将若干种类的分类位置做了修订,其中将原来鉴定为短角丽牛相似种(Leptobos cf.L.brevicornis)的标本厘定为粗壮丽牛(Leptobos (Smertiobos) crassus).通过对驼子洞动物群性质的综合比较,发现驼子洞动物群的组成成分与安徽繁昌人字洞动物群和重庆巫山龙骨坡动物群最接近.驼子洞动物群的组成具有南、北方类型混合的特点,应该属于过渡型动物群,但以具北方特色的成员偏多,说明在早更新世期间有北方的部分种类向南扩散的事件,范围到达南京一带.这一扩散事件可能与气候变化有关.驼子洞动物群指示在早更新世时期江宁一带的地貌特征与现在的差别不大,气候潮湿,但气温可能比现在的低.     

南京汤山葫芦洞古人类化石堆积体的地质特征及环境演变初探—兼对古人类栖息葫芦洞质疑

本文对南京汤山古人类遗址洞穴—葫芦洞作了考察研究，阐述了葫芦洞及其堆积物的特征，分析了其成因。认为自中更新世以来，汤山地区环境发生了一定的变化，并指出葫芦洞内并非真正的古人类栖息地。     

南京汤山葫芦洞地质雷达勘探洞穴堆积研究

通过对南京汤山葫芦洞内部东侧地质雷达勘探资料的分析,根据经验值计算,东部洞穴基岩埋深在10m左右,可能为水平状的红色岩系。特殊的地质基础导致葫芦洞成为汤山地区已知规模最大的洞穴。其上的洞穴埋藏堆积可以分为上、中、下三个角砾层,可能反映了该洞穴曾经历过三次较大的崩塌堆积过程。上角砾层可能含有动物化石,是今后古人类考古值得关注的堆积层。     

广西那坡县龙合矿区铝土矿地质特征

通过找矿勘探,在那坡县龙合矿区发现一处大型规模的堆积铝土矿矿床,为广西区铝工业发展提供后备资源基地。堆积铝土矿赋存于岩溶洼地内更新世岩溶堆积红土层中,成矿物质来源于上二叠统合山组底部的古风化壳型铝土矿(岩)层,主要成矿时代为更新世,主导成矿作用为岩溶作用、红土化作用。矿化富集主要受矿源层、地层岩性、构造运动、气候和地貌等因素控制。     

南京汤山直立人头骨的复原和更新世中期直立人的地理变异

现代中国人体质特征可分为南北两大地区类型。这两大类群的形成可追溯到全新世的新石器时代 ,甚至更新世晚期。 1993年在南京汤山发现一具更新世中期的带有面骨的直立人头骨。为追索中国人群南北两大类型的形成历史 ,对汤山头骨作了重新复原 ,对汤山头骨与周口店头骨作了形态比较。结果表明 ,汤山头骨与周口店头骨相同的特征几乎全是直立人共有的形态特征。汤山头骨不同于周口店头骨的诸特征 ,如浅的眶上圆枕上沟、不呈发髻状的枕骨水平轮廓、较短宽的面部、特宽的鼻型和接近低眶的眶型等 ,提示中国人群南北两大类型的形态差别可能早在更新世中期汤山直立人生存时已显出端倪     

北京猿人洞堆积旋回与黄土和深海气候旋回对比

北京猿人洞13个堆积层可划分为7个堆积旋回。每个旋回早期的堆积层(砂、粉砂、粘土和钙扳层),含有暖温带气候特征的哺乳动物和孢粉组合;晚期的堆积层(洞穴角砾与巨砾层),含有温带较干冷气候特征的哺乳动物和孢粉组合。堆积层年代测定数据表明北京猿人洞7个堆积旋回形成于更新世中期,年代为128-730ka,与中国黄土层L₂-S₇,相当,可与深海氧同位素阶段6-19和气候旋回C-I对比。北京猿人在此洞断续生活了约35万年,即从距今约60万年的第5堆积旋回(δ¹⁸O第14阶段)至距今约25万年的第2堆积旋回(δ¹⁸O第8阶段)。     

北京─通县平原地区第四纪环境演变

北京─通县平原地区的第四纪环境演变，主要取决于气候变化和新构造运动。早更新世时，古永定河尚未形成自西向东穿越本区的河道，新构造运动和海平面变化，控制和影响了海侵事件的规模和范围。中更新世本区湖沼广布。晚更新世是本区平原化的主要时期，塑造了北京平原现时地貌的基本格架。晚更新世末，受末次冰期气候的影响，本区发生了地史时期的最后一次大事件，造成了物种迁移和绝灭，全区广泛发育黄土堆积。进入全新世，本区环境变化以河流作用最为显著，沉积物主要分布在各大水系的河谷中，构成一、二级阶地和近代河床与河漫滩淮积。     

湖南杨二洞更新世晚期动物群研究

湖南花垣县杨二洞化石点位于沅江上游,动物群种类包括有6目26种,动物群时代为晚更新世末期。杨二洞小型哺乳动物化石材料较多。有些小型哺乳动物在我国更新世时期首次发现,如大爪长尾鼩、大黑伏翼、大齿鼠等。杨二洞动物群在我国西南地区更新世末期的材料之中,具有较为突出的森林性特征,反映出湘西北更新世末期具有南亚热带森林古环境。动物群综合研究发现,小家鼠、褐家鼠在中更新世晚期分别产生于中国东北和长江下游,其中小家鼠在更新世晚期经华北向长江流域及其以南扩散,褐家鼠在更新世较晚时期分别向华北和岭南扩散。晚更新世以来,有较多小哺乳动物出现了从低海拔向高海拔山区进行生境转移的现象,这种生境转移对认识大熊猫生态演变有重要参考。杨二洞堆积物特征反映,沅江上游晚更新世末期时河床侵蚀性下切明显,地貌变化显著。     

北京西山灵岳寺古冰川沉积物何在?

北京西山灵岳寺附近的第四纪沉积物不是真正的古冰川沉积物。该处山腰凹地中一套以粗大砾石为主的混杂堆积是较典型的复式稀性泥石流堆积体,其时代为晚更新世之前,而不是晚更新世末期产物。所谓晚更新世末期的冰川堆积体和冰蚀地貌,实际上是不存在的。晚更新世时期,北京西山地区属冰缘环境,而非冰川环境。     

洛河大荔人遗址段的地貌学研究

通过对大荔人遗址地层地貌的观察与实测，发现洛河大荔人遗址段的地层主要由3套陆相沉积物组成：底部的新近纪和早更新世湖相堆积，中部中更新世的河相堆积以及上部中更新世晚期至全新世的黄土堆积。在洛河大荔人遗址段可以误别出四级阶地，从河流地貌特点和各级阶地的地层特征看，该阶地皆为其座型阶地。运用古土壤断代法和区域河流阶段地发生对比法得出洛河在该地区演化的时间序列：0．9－0.72MaB.P.,0.50-0.40MaB.P.,0.10MaB.P.,0.01MaB.P.在此基础上对该地区地貌演化模式进行了讨论。     

流入型洞穴——山东沂源九天洞初步研究

九天洞是一个典型的直接由外源水补给形成的流入型洞穴。洞内大片分布的石花起源于四大古水池沉积物的存在。九天洞发育于第四纪早更新世晚期至中更新世早期,经历过成洞期、残余水流(古水池)活动期(中更新世中、晚期)石花发育期(晚更新世以来)和主要滴石、流石(含浅水池)沉积期(晚更新世晚期至今)等发育阶段。今日的九天洞又是一个残余洞穴,已被完全蚀去的近流入口段的洞穴长度不小于200m,约占洞穴全长的37%。九天洞及其洞穴群的景观资源价值和科学价值,在我国北方喀斯特洞穴中占有重要的地位。      

中国的洞穴与裂隙堆积

洞穴和裂隙堆积是陆相地层中一个重要的组成部分,经过一百多年的研究,它已成了我国地层表中的一个明确的时空单位,就目前信息,其地质时代从第三纪早期一直延续到第四纪晚期。本世纪发现的洞穴堆积地点上千处,其中含古人类和古猿类化石的地点已达４０多个,与其伴生的哺乳动物化石４００余种。这些珍贵的史料,对研究第三纪以来洞穴堆积地层的时序具有十分重要的意义。     

Cave sites,faunal analysis,and Big-Game Hunters of the Great Basin: A caution

Deposits of inferred natural origin excavated at Mineral Hill Cave, north-central Nevada, exhibit a similarity to the reported evidence for “Big-Game Hunters” from cave sites in the Great Basin. Split bone and charcoal were observed throughout the deposits. In addition, the remains of a number of animal taxa including several Pleistocene genera, which are considered to have been of economic importance, were recovered from the deposits. These findings suggest that the role of natural processes in cave deposition is of crucial importance in understanding cave-site archaeology.     

周口店太平山北坡早更新世洞穴地层的划分

１９８５年，曹伯勋等在周口店太平山北坡发现了一个早更新世洞穴－洼地堆积地点（东洞），并作了初步报导。１９９２～１９９３年，笔者又对该剖面进行了哺乳动物化石的系统采集工作，获得了丰富的化石，为确定东洞动物群的性质及该剖面地层时代提供了确凿证据。研究表明该地点堆积物形成于１．６７～０．９７ＭａＢ．Ｐ，太平山组应包括整个剖面。     

Late Quaternary environmental and human events at En Gedi, reflected by the geology and archaeology of the Moringa Cave (Dead Sea area, Israel)

The Moringa Cave within Pleistocene sediments in the En Gedi area of the Dead Sea Fault Escarpment contains a sequence of various Pleistocene lacustrine deposits associated with higher-than-today lake levels at the Dead Sea basin. In addition it contains Chalcolithic remains and 5th century BC burials attributed to the Persian period, cemented and covered by Late Holocene travertine flowstone. These deposits represent a chain of Late Pleistocene and Holocene interconnected environmental and human events, echoing broader scale regional and global climate events. A major shift between depositional environments is associated with the rapid fall of Lake Lisan level during the latest Pleistocene. This exposed the sediments, providing for cave formation processes sometime between the latest Pleistocene (ca. 15 ka) and the Middle Holocene (ca. 4500 BC), eventually leading to human use of the cave. The Chalcolithic use of the cave can be related to a relatively moist desert environment, probably related to a shift in the location of the northern boundary of the Saharo-Arabian desert belt. The travertine layer was U-Th dated 2.46 ± 0.10 to 2.10 ± 0.04 ka, in agreement with the archaeological finds from the Persian period. Together with the inner consistency of the dating results, this strongly supports the reliability of the radiometric ages. The 2.46-2.10 ka travertine deposition within the presently dry cave suggests a higher recharge of the Judean Desert aquifer, correlative to a rising Dead Sea towards the end of the 1st millennium BC. This suggests a relatively moist local and regional climate facilitating human habitation of the desert.     

秦岭中更新世以来抬升的新资料及认识

秦岭北坡的陕西省洛南县南洛河北岸发育高度不同的6层溶蚀洞穴,其中5层溶蚀洞穴中发现沉积物和古生物化石。对这些洞穴进行了考察和发掘,并研究了洞穴内沉积物的化石。另外对洞穴外的河流阶地进行了高程测量和对比分析,用选频光释光法测定各洞穴底部沉积物和洞穴外河流阶地沉积物的年龄,确定了各洞穴大致的形成时代,并首次得到秦岭中更新世以来的抬升资料。其抬升过程中速度不均一性、时代越新抬升速率越强的总趋势等状况与青藏高原相似     

The Phosphates of Pleistocene–Holocene Sediments of the Eastern Gallery of Denisova Cave

Authigenic phosphate mineralization was first studied on the territory of Russia on the basis of the Holocene and Pleistocene deposits of Denisova Cave. The formation of phosphates in the eastern gallery is related to biodegradation of the horizons of guano of insectivorous bats, which inhabited the cave in the absence man. The results confirmed the archaeological record of the Holocene and the upper part of Pleistocene sequences of the eastern gallery.     

Taphonomy of a South African cave: geological and hydrological influences on the GD 1 fossil assemblage at Gondolin,a Plio-Pleistocene paleocave system in the Northwest Province,South Africa

Occasional excavation of in situ and ex situ deposits at the formerly mined Gondolin paleocave system has yielded large and diverse samples of Plio-Pleistocene faunas, including isolated hominin and non-hominin primate remains. In 2003, new excavations into naturally decalcified, in situ sediments near the GD 1 datum point near the northwest corner of the cave system were undertaken. This paper describes the recovered faunal remains, taphonomy of the assemblage, and the geological and paleomagnetic context of the GD 1 deposits. The deposits represent a series of inter-stratified speleothem, in-washed sediments and talus deposits we suggest date to a time period prior to, and just after, the Olduvai normal-polarity event at around 1.7–1.8 Ma. Surface sediments and clasts were introduced into the cave by rain water runoff entering a vertically-oriented entrance that had formed along a rift in the area of GD 1. The faunal assemblage consists primarily of fragmentary diaphyseal fragments and isolated teeth. Taxonomically, the small collection of specifically identifiable bovid and equid fossils is generally consistent with remains previously excavated from in situ deposits in the Gondolin paleocave system (GD 2) and dated to around 1.8 Ma; however, the depositional histories of these two assemblages from Gondolin are remarkably different. The preservation and relative proportions of recovered skeletal elements at GD 1 is consistent with these materials having been initially accumulated outside the karstic system near the vertical cave entrance, and then later hydrologically sorted and deposited inside the cave. The sporadic to continuous water flow into the northwest corner of the cave system during the Pleistocene gradually decalcified the excavated fossilbearing breccias and further modified the composition and spatial distribution of the fossil assemblage by introducing potentially younger deposits and skeletal materials. This study highlights the variation in taphonomic processes that can occur within a single cave system, and the complex pre- and postdepositional geological and hydrological processes that can influence the taphonomic history of South African Plio-Pleistocene karstic fossil assemblages.     

南京直立人的发现及其研究意义

南京直立人的发现与研究的主要意义在于深入探讨了南京汤山葫芦洞古人类头骨的性质、性别、年龄、病理、环境、遗传基因和时代等一系列学术问题。对古人类在南京地区的发现、发展演化及其与国内外已知直立人的关系等方面的研究提供了重要证据。     

Speleothem-based chronology and environmental context of deposits from the Mishin Kamik Cave,NW Bulgaria – A contribution to the archaeological study of the Late Pleistocene human occupation in the Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discovery of potential bone artefacts and an intriguing accumulation of bear skulls and bones. Petrographic study and U-series dating of a stalagmite and other calcite deposits in the cave provide an absolute chronological frame for the detrital infillings and their archaeological content and inform the environmental and climatic context of the cave evolution. Most detrital deposits in the cave were probably deposited before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the cave morphology and sedimentary deposits display current morphologies since ~135 ka. Consequently, the palaeontological and archaeological findings are older than ~135 ka. Calcite dated on and under the accumulation of bear skulls and bones suggests deposition during MIS 7. A first depositional contextualization of the bone accumulation does not allow us to discriminate between a natural or anthropogenic origin. The study emphasizes the added value of speleothem studies in archaeological sites and particularly in bringing a well-constrained chronological and environmental framework.