1) Description and analysis of Middle Pleistocene human crania from Yunxian, Hubei, China.
I am currently working with Prof. Li Tianyuan of the Hubei Archeological Institute in the continuing study of two virtually complete crania of H. erectus recently discovered at a middle Pleistocene locality in Yun county, Hubei. An article describing and interpreting these new finds written by Prof. Li and myself appeared in the June 4, 1992 issue of the British scientific journal Nature.
The Yunxian crania rank with
Petralona, Broken Hill, Bodo and Sangiran 17 in their completeness and
significance. The study of these fossils is greatly expanding our knowledge of
middle Pleistocene human variation in China. My participation in the study of
this material is the first direct collaboration since the 1930s between a Chinese and foreign
paleoanthropologist in the description and analysis of new archaic fossil hominid
remains from China. The timely publication of these important new specimens in
Nature generated world-wide interest and focused attention on the rich
fossil human record of China.
At present I am working towards assembling
a multinational team of scientists to conduct multidisciplinary research at
the Yunxian site in order to better understand its geochronological, taphonomic
and archeological contexts. I will be working closely with Prof. Li in
developing future research work at Yunxian.
2) Joint Chinese-American study and excavation of early Paleolithic sites in the Nihewan basin of Hebei.
I was actively involved in developing the Nihewan project's research design, getting the project started and bringing it to fruition. Prof. J. Desmond Clark of the Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley was the principal investigator on the US side while Prof. Jia Lanpo of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Academia Sinica was his Chinese counterpart. Participating researchers included myself, Profs. N. Toth, K. Schick, F. Brown, K. Badgley and D. Gifford-Gonzales on the American team and Profs. Wei Qi and Xie Fei on the Chinese team. This project, was a multi-year, multifaceted endeavor incorporating excavation and study of perhaps the earliest Paleolithic sites in Asia. We trained young Chinese archeologists in lithic analysis, faunal analysis and taphonomy through a series of on-the-spot workshops and formal seminars. These joint excavations were particularly significant because they represented the first direct collaboration between Chinese and foreign archeologists since the 1930s. The project was the first ever joint archeological excavation formally approved by the Cultural Relics Bureau of the Chinese State Council. It remains of special importance for the future development of collaborative research between Chinese and foreign prehistorians.
With (from left to right) Profs. N. Toth, K. Schick, J.D. Clark and Wei Qi at the Early Paleolithic site of Donggutuo in the Nihewan basin of Hebei province, north-central China.
3) Joint Chinese-American study of new fossil hominoid remains from the Yuanmou basin, Yunnan.
I helped develop an exchange program between the Yunnan Provincial Museum (YPM) and the Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies (LHES) at Berkeley. One result has been the development of a proposal to jointly study prolific new Pliocene hominoid remains recovered at sites in the Yuanmou basin. This project will entail cataloging the entire collection of hominoids recovered to date from Yuanmou as well as the study and description of major specimens, which include a well-preserved juvenile hominoid face and palate as well as numerous upper and lower jaw fragments with in situ dentition and over 1000 isolated teeth of every dental type.
4) Joint study of history of arthritis in China.
I have worked with Dr. Bruce Rothschild of the Arthritis Center of Northeast Ohio, Dr. Zhang Censhan of the Beijing Chaoyang Hospital and Prof. Zhang Zhenbiao of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, in developing a project to study skeletal collections in China relevant to ongoing research conducted by Dr. Rothschild on the origins of arthritic disorders in modern human populations. Our Chinese colleagues traveled to the U.S. during the Spring of 1992 to participate in a mini-seminar on Paleopathology conducted by Dr. Rothschild. Plans for studying prehistoric and modern skeletal collections in China are being formulated.
5) Future research possibilities.
China has vast potential to serve as a controlled laboratory for the study of modern human origins. Sites such as Xujiayao and Shiyu in Shanxi province, Laishui in Hebei and Salawusu in Inner Mongolia have yielded significant human fossils than span the period from approximately 30,000 to 100,000 YBP. It is very important to restudy this material in light of recent worldwide advances in modern human origins research. I plan on pursuing this line of research and have established contacts in China which will facilitate the development of joint research projects focused on the origins of modern humans in east Asia.