Reporters learned from the Hubei Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism that the "Yunxian Man " skull fossil No. 3 discovered at the Liangzi site in Shiyan Xuetang, Hubei Province has been successfully extracted and unearthed recently after nearly half a year of excavation.
The skull fossil No. 3 of "Yunxian Man" is about 1 million years old. It is the most complete ancient human skull fossil of the same era found in the interior of Eurasia so far. It is important evidence for studying the emergence and development of humans in East Asia. This important discovery also proves the millions of years of human history in my country.
"Yunxian Man" No. 3 Million-year-old human fossil extracted and unearthed
Director of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Fang Qin: This skull happens to be in a stratum. This one is very precious. It has a clear stratum. To take it out, you must first expand it. There is a rhinoceros skeleton next to this skull . We can lift it up completely by carefully removing the surroundings bit by bit to ensure that its information is the most comprehensive and complete.
On May 18 this year, the skull fossil of "Yunxian Man" No. 3 was discovered during a new round of archaeological excavations at the Liangzi site in Shiyan Xuetang, Hubei Province. The fossil is located on the wall of the archaeological exploratory pit, only 0.62 meters above the surface. Half of it is exposed from the rock and soil. After nearly half a year of excavation by the archaeological team, in early December, this precious million-year-old ancient human fossil entered the extraction stage.
Researcher at the Institute of Paleovertebral Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences Leader of the archaeological expert working group at the Xuetang Liangzi Site Gao Xing: We now look at the exposed parts of the skull, including the parietal bone , and the raised state of the eyebrow arch and forehead, including the nasal bones. The left side of the face and facial bones are basically complete, and the right side is wrapped in surrounding rocks and soil. The skull of Yunxian Man No. 3 has basically no deformation and is completely preserved.
After careful peeling by archaeologists, on the morning of December 3, the skull fossil No. 3 of "Yunxian Man" was successfully unearthed and placed in a special safe for storage.
"Yunxian Man" No. 3 The most complete skull of the same era in the Eurasian interior
In 1989 and 1990, two ancient human skull fossils dating back one million years were unearthed from the Liangzi site in Shiyan Xuetang, Hubei Province, and were named "Yunxian Man No. 1" and "Yunxian Man No. 2". The newly unearthed skull fossil No. 3 of "Yunxian Man" is only about 35 meters away from the unearthed skull No. 1 and No. 2, and is in a better state of preservation. It is the most complete ancient human skull of the same era in the Eurasian interior, and is expected to provide a new key evidence for the study of the origin, evolution and development of humans.
Experts said that regarding the origin and evolution of humans, the current general consensus in the academic community is the "Africa Out" hypothesis. This hypothesis holds that humans originated from the great apes in Africa, and passed through evolutionary stages such as Australopithecus , Homo habilis, and Homo erectus. About 2 million years ago, they left Africa during the Homo erectus stage and spread to all parts of the world.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebral Paleozoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the archaeological expert working group at Xuetang Liangzi Site Gao Xing: There are very few human fossils dating back about 1 million years ago. Specifically in our region of East Asia, those older than 1 million years old include only Yuanmou Man from 1.7 million years ago, and Lantian Man from about 1.6 million to 1.2 million years ago. The people of Yunxian County are in an intermediate stage, which is about 1 million years ago. Later, there was Peking Man, and new dating shows that Peking Man may have been around 800,000 years ago. The middle link is basically supported by the three skulls of Yunxian people. It should be a process that connects the past and the next.
Experts said that about 200,000 to 2 million years ago, during this time period, humans evolved to the Homo erectus stage, and Yunxian humans were at a key intermediate node in the 2 million-year evolution of Homo erectus. Its discovery has filled the long-term evolutionary gap between East Asian Homo erectus, Yuanmou Man, Lantian Man and Peking Man, and has irreplaceable research value.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebral Paleozoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the archaeological expert working group at Xuetang Liangzi Site Gao Xing: Skull No. 3 of Yunxian Man should be the most complete skull in the Eurasian interior millions of years ago. Some measured data are very important and can be used to study the human brain at that time. For example, Skull No. 1 and Skull No. 2 were crushed and distorted. This brain volume cannot be measured accurately. Our Skull No. 3 can provide very accurate data.
Refined equipment makes archaeological excavations like "surgery"
The "Yunxian Man" who lived about 1 million years ago is exactly at the middle node of the 2 million years of evolution of Homo erectus, and is of great research value. Therefore, archaeological experts were particularly careful in the excavation of skull fossil No. 3 of "Yunxian Man". endoscope , wind engraving pen and other refined equipment became standard equipment for this excavation. The entire excavation was like a "surgical operation" that lasted for half a year.
Experts said that in order not to cause damage to the fossils and surrounding remains, during the excavation process, the archaeological team customized a silicone rubber jacket for the "Yunxian Man" No. 3 skull fossil to protect it, and used endoscopes, wind engraving pens and other refined archaeological equipment to make the entire extraction work as precise as surgery. The fossils were gradually peeled off from the hard native soil.
Lu Chengqiu, associate research librarian at the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology and person in charge of the Xuetang Liangzi Site Archaeological Project: cannot be seen in many places, and there are a large number of fossils nearby that we cannot destroy, so we have to avoid those fossils. The space is very small. Sometimes we can only use an endoscope to pick, move, and stop to make sure there is no more picking, just like abdominal surgery.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the Xuetang Liangzi site archaeological expert working group Gao Xing: includes human fossils and stone products, which are often surrounded by surrounding rocks and cements, which need to be removed. We use this kind of wind engraving pen, and we found that many of the tools are used by dentists and are very delicate. This ensures that the excavation does not cause damage to fossils or cultural relics.
After being unearthed, it will undergo necessary repairs to remove excess surrounding rock, cement and animal bone fragments. The "Yunxian Man" No. 3 skull will be transported to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, where high-precision CT technology will be used to carry out research work such as tomography, data extraction and morphological reconstruction. In addition, the archaeological team will also conduct detailed research on the shape, age, gender and burial conditions of "Yunxian Man" No. 3 skull, and conduct systematic observations of the associated stone products and animal fossils to comprehensively analyze the physical characteristics, evolutionary status, and lifestyle of "Yunxian Man" to decipher the mysteries of ancient human origins and evolution.
Digital technology helps restore the entire site with high precision
In addition to conducting detailed excavations of the "Yunxian Man" No. 3 skull fossil, the archaeological team also built an archaeological cabin of more than 1,000 square meters on site to conduct laboratory archaeology on the spot, and carried out fine excavations using 2 cm as an operating unit. The high-precision 3D image restoration also enables digital reconstruction of the excavation process and the entire site.
Fang Qin, Director of the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology: We turn the excavation site into a laboratory so that we can carry out detailed excavations, even if it is a tiny trace.
According to reports, the extraction and digital modeling of "Yunxian Man" No. 3 skull and related samples are the top priority of this work. Over a period of half a year, archaeologists conducted more than 20 high-precision three-dimensional reconstructions of key excavation areas and excavation levels, and took more than 200,000 photos. A large number of excavation pictures, videos and data are available to digitally restore the entire excavation process.
Xing Song, researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences: In such a small area, we probably have to take more than 20,000 photos. When we zoom in, a lot of details will be revealed, including soil particles and animal fossil shapes, which can be completely revealed in a three-dimensional way. Here is a tapir's mandible. Let's take a look at its effect. This is a whole mandible with two rows of teeth. If we zoom in again, we can see enamel .
In order to uncover more ancient mysteries, a multidisciplinary excavation research team was also formed for this archeology. Focusing on human fossils and other remains, more than 1,400 soil and other sediment samples were systematically collected for scientific analysis of age, environment, burial and residues.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the Xuetang Liangzi site archaeological expert working group Gao Xing: There will be human tools or food residues left on human teeth. Plants have disappeared in this place. Humans sometimes cut down trees to pick fruits, which may leave behind microscopic fossils of plants. These will indicate the environment and human food resources at that time.
Animal fossils reveal the life picture of "Yunxian people" one million years ago
How did the "Yunxian people" produce millions of years ago? What kind of natural environment do you live in? The key clues to decoding ancient mysteries appear around the "Yunxian Man" fossil No. 3. A large number of stone artifacts and ancient animal fossils have been discovered here, and the life picture of the "Yunxian people" millions of years ago is expected to be gradually revealed.
Archaeological experts said that a new round of archaeological excavations at the Xuetang Liangzi site has unearthed more than 200 ancient human fossils, stone products, ancient animal fossils and other relics, including the skull No. 3 of "Yunxian Man". These scattered ancient animal fossils involve multiple species, most of which are herbivorous animals. In some areas, there are even concentrated stacks.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the Xuetang Liangzi site archaeological expert working group Gao Xing: If elephants, horses, or cattle died naturally and were buried to form fossils, they should be complete individuals, but what we see are relatively fragmented, which are typical remains after humans dismembered meal animals.
Along with animal bones, a large number of stone tools were also unearthed at the site. Experts analyzed that these stone tools were probably the tools used by "Yunxian people" for hunting and gathering food millions of years ago.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the archaeological expert working group at Xuetang Liangzi Site Gao Xing: has some choppers and scrapers . Its main function is to obtain plants. In addition, these stone tools are used for hunting. Elephants and rhinos must be cut and transported back. Therefore, making and using stone tools can be determined as the production and life behaviors of people at that time.
In previous rounds of excavations, in addition to the discovery of two one-million-year-old skull fossils of "Yunxian Man" No. 1 and No. 2 at the Xuetang Liangzi site, more than 20 types of mammal fossils and 207 stone artifacts were also unearthed. These remains are similar to the burial environment, accompanying fauna, and technical characteristics of stone artifacts of Skull No. 3 excavated this time. Therefore, experts preliminarily judge that they belong to the same era. These animal fossils reflect to a large extent the living environment of the "Yunxian people" millions of years ago.
Researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the archaeological expert working group at Xuetang Liangzi Site Gao Xing:It was a warm and humid environment at that time, because there were some elephants, tapirs, giant pandas, and golden monkeys. These animals all like warmth and humidity.
In addition, the Xuetang Liangzi site is located in the valley where the Quyuan River and the Han River meet, surrounded by the rolling mountains of the Qinling . The climate here is mild, the vegetation is dense, and the water is sufficient. Archaeological experts believe that the good natural climate conditions made the "Qinling - Hanshui " area an important area for the origin and evolution of human beings.
Researcher at the Institute of Paleovertebral Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences and leader of the Xuetang Liangzi Site Archaeological Expert Working Group Gao Xing: There are more than 130 Paleolithic sites in this area, and humans have left their legacy in the "Qinling-Hanshui" area. It nurtured our ancestors at that time, and it still nurtures our human beings today.
(CCTV News)
