Evidence of Middle Pleistocene hominin migration in the Qinling Mountains (central China) from the Miaokou Paleolithic site

The Qinling Mountain Range (QMR) spans a large region in China and is an im-portant area of hominin activities.Many Paleolithic sites are found in Bahe,South Luohe,and Hanjiang river valleys in the northern,eastern,and southern part of the range,respectively.The Danjiang River valley acts as a channel connecting these valleys and stretches from the north to the south of the QMR.The previous dating of the Paleolithic sites in the Danjiang valley mainly relied on geomorphologic comparison,stratigraphic correlation,fossil charac-teristics,and Paleolithic artifacts,indicating a lack of absolute data.In this study,we con-ducted a detailed geochronological investigation of the entire valley,and selected an ideal site--the Miaokou profile.Based on the identification of the Ioess-paleosol sequences,opti-cally stimulated luminescence,and magnetostratigraphy,the Paleolithic artifacts of the Mi-aokou site located within the S5 and S6 layers of the profile belong to ～0.6-0.7 Ma.This suggests that the Paleolithic site is an old site in the Danjiang River valley,and this period also witnessed a rapid increase in the number of hominin sites during the Middle Pleistocene.Combining our results with previous reports across the QMR,we propose that the Danjiang River valley might have been a corridor for hominin migration,and is worthy of further inves-tigation.     

Cosmogenic ~(26)Al/~(10)Be Burial Dating of the Birth of the Present Hanjiang River

正Objective Structural lows and major rift systems provide the basis for the creation of large rivers.The uplift of the Qinling and Daba Mountains structural belts and Tibetan Plateau would have provided the basis for the origin and northwestsoutheast flow of the ancient Hanjiang River (Lu et al.,2018).After a long-term evolution,the present pattern of Hanjiang River has been formed.Five to six river terraces in the Hanzhong and Yunxian basins along the flanks of Hanjiang River valleys had been identified and some terraces had been     

Drainage evolution in intermontane basins at the Qinling-Daba Mountains

Science China Earth Sciences - River capture is of great significance to landform evolution and hominine migration. In the Qinling-Daba Mountains, there is a viewpoint that Jialing River captured...     

中国中部地区洛南盆地刘湾旧石器遗址的宇生核素埋藏测年研究（英文）

The Luonan Basin is a key region of early human settlement in Central China with more than 300 discovered Paleolithic sites. Artifact layer 1 of the Liuwan site was dated to approximately 0.6 million years(Ma) based on correlation with the well-dated loess–paleosol sequence of the central Chinese Loess Plateau. This study reassessed the age of the Liuwan artifact layer via an absolute dating method, namely, ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be burial dating. We determined the burial age of artifact layer 1, which was most likely at least 0.60 ± 0.12 Ma(1?), using three simple burial ages. The new burial age confirmed the previous estimated age and provided a considerably accurate age range. Therefore, we suggest the use of the ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be burial dating method in thin loess-covered Paleolithic sites around the Qinling Mountain Range is helpful to understand the early human behavior.     

Cosmogenic nuclide burial dating of Liuwan Paleolithic site in the Luonan Basin,Central China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - The Luonan Basin is a key region of early human settlement in Central China with more than 300 discovered Paleolithic sites. Artifact layer 1 of the Liuwan site...     

东秦岭南洛河上游黄土地层年代的初步研究 及其在旧石器考古中的意义*

近年来,在东秦岭南洛河流域发现了大批旧石器地点,该区域被认为是中国南北方旧石器工业的交汇和过渡地带。但是,早期人类在这一带的活动时间和环境背景尚不清楚。由于第四纪黄土的定年方法相对成熟,旧石器遗址的黄土堆积可为解决这些问题提供重要证据。对洛南盆地上白川和刘湾两个遗址的黄土剖面进行土壤地层和磁性地层研究以及光释光年龄和磁化率测定结果显示,该地区的黄土堆积可能从110万年前就已经开始,地层有明显的黄土-古土壤旋回,指示了气候和环境在冰期-间冰期时间尺度的变化。黄土地层下部出土的石制品表明,至少在约80万年前后人类就在这一带活动并制作工具。石制品两面加工技术被广泛采用,大量制作精美的手斧和薄刃斧等Acheulian工业类型工具的发现,显示洛南盆地的旧石器工业可能已经突破了"莫氏线(Movius Line)"的框架。     

Earth surface processes and their effects on human behavior in monsoonal China during the Pleistocene-Holocene epochs

There is a wide diversity of landforms in China. The topography of three major terraces, decreasing in height stepwise from west to east, was formed by the early Miocene. With the commencement of the Great Northern Hemisphere Glaciations (GHGs) and the glacial-interglacial cycles in the Pleistocene, thick loess deposits accumulated in north China, and fluvial terraces were formed and lakes expanded and contracted in eastern and central China. The earliest evidence of hominins in China is dated to ～1.7 Ma; they occupied the monsoon-dominated region for a long interval, until the late Pleistocene, ～50 ka. In this study, we investigated a large area rich in the relics and artifacts of early man. The results indicate that the early humans occupied riverine areas, especially medium-sized fluvial basins, and lake shores. Even in the relatively recent geological past, the occupation and abandonment of settlements were directly forced by the shifting of sand dune fields in the desert-loess transitional zone, which in turn was closely associated with variations in the monsoon climate and vegetation patterns. Our observations indicate that landforms were one of the main determinants of early human behavior, in that loess tableland, large alluvial plains, desert-Gobi areas, and the Tibetan Plateau, were not suitable environments for early human settlement. We infer that the early humans in China adapted their behavior to specific landforms and landform processes. The monsoon climate, which shapes the large-scale step-like pattern of fluvial landforms, promotes vegetation coverage and dominates soil formation, provides a crucial context for early human adaptation. The adaptation of early humans to earth surface processes in East Asia is investigated for the first time in this study. Future investigations will provide further information that will increase our understanding of the linkage between early human behavior and landform processes in East Asia.