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Dating of the Hamakita human remains from Japan

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Abstract

Human and non-human remains recovered in the early 1960s from the Negata site at Hamakita, central Japan were dated by radiocarbon accelerator mass spectrometry. These results and revised fluorine dating yielded consistent dates of about 14.0 14C ka BP for the Hamakita Upper Layer human bones, and the most probable age estimate of around 17.9 14C ka BP for the Hamakita Lower Layer human bone. These dates confirm the provisional assignment of the Hamakita hominids to the late Pleistocene and make them the first securely dated specimens in the inventory of the 'Palaeolithic hominid' fossils of Honshu island (mainland Japan) that predate the Mesolithic-Neolithic Jomon period.

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... The fluorine contents of 4 human bones from the Upper Layer (0.437-0.569%) and the Homo bed non-human bones (0.461-0.498%) are similar. The human bone from the Lower Layer (0.997%) is within the range of the Felis bed non-human mammals (0.771-1.075) (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005). ...
... The 3 human bones selected from the Upper Layer gave 14 C dates of ~13,000-14,000 BP. The human bone from the Lower Layer contained insufficient gelatin for 14 C dating (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005; see Table 5). The similar fluorine contents of the Lower Layer human bone (0.997%) and Panthera cf. ...
... The similar fluorine contents of the Lower Layer human bone (0.997%) and Panthera cf. pardus (0.902%) from the Felis bed, leads Kondo and Matsu'ura (2005) to argue that the 14 C date for the latter (17,910 ± 70 BP, Beta-94983, sample HK-B-8) likely approximates that for the human bone. Previous age estimates for the Upper and Lower Layer were of 15,000 and ~18,000 BP, respectively Kondo 2000 in Matsu'ura andKondo 2001: 286;Ono et al. 1999). ...
Article
The chronological status of Pleistocene fossils of early modern humans in the People's Republic of China is based almost exclusively on indirect dating of the stratigraphic context and faunal and radiocarbon dating of associated or supposedly associated archaeological specimens. A similar pattern is observed in Korea and Japan. This paper examines the 14C and other dating techniques of early modern humans in East Asia to gain a more complete and up-to-date understanding of their chronology. © 2010 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.
... However, the extent of migration that occurred along each route remains unclear. Although no human bones have been discovered at these sites, except for the partial H. sapiens fossils such as fragments of cranium, humerus, and pelvis from the Hamakita Negata Site in mainland Japan [7,8], almost all Paleolithic sites in Japan are considered to be associated with H. sapiens based on the cultural point of view. The lower sea level during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) means that several islands were connected to each other; however, Paleo-Honshu island, which was formed by connecting Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyusyu, was always separated from the continent by the ocean. ...
... The Prehistory of Human Migration -Human Expansion, Material Culture, and Resource Use in... 8 ...
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Archeological sites dating back 30,000 years have been discovered throughout the Ryukyus and provided evidence for the migration of Homo sapiens across the sea during the late Pleistocene. A possible relationship to Southeast Asia is suggested, both from studies of artifacts and human remains. Subsequently, prehistoric people continued to inhabit at least several islands until the Holocene. From the end of the Pleistocene to the Holocene, the influence of Jomon culture extended to the Ryukyus, and people of the Jomon culture probably migrated from mainland Japan. One of the oldest evidence of pottery manufacture possibly related to incipient Jomon is found on Tokuno-Shima Island in central Ryukyu. This paper reviews the history of human migration to the Ryukyu Islands and discusses changes in their environment and culture.
... Specimens were separated into two groups: a tibia fragment that referred to an older bio-stratigraphic horizon called Felis Bed, and the remainder referring to a younger horizon of the Late Pleistocene (Suzuki, 1966). The age difference was confirmed by recent re-application of fluorine tests by Kondo and Matsu'ura (2005), who also succeeded in obtaining measurable amounts of collagen from three of the human bone fragments of the younger group that yielded dates in the order of 14,000 14 C BP, or about 17 Ka BP (all radiocarbon dates are calibrated, unless designated as 14 C). Even though a sufficient amount of datable material could not be extracted from the tibia fragment representing the "Hamakita Lower Man," 17,910 ± 70 14 C BP (Beta-94983), or about 21 Ka BP, the age for a Panthera bone from the Felis Bed could apply to the tibia, as the two bones contained comparable levels of fluorine (Kondo & Matsu'ura, 2005). ...
... The age difference was confirmed by recent re-application of fluorine tests by Kondo and Matsu'ura (2005), who also succeeded in obtaining measurable amounts of collagen from three of the human bone fragments of the younger group that yielded dates in the order of 14,000 14 C BP, or about 17 Ka BP (all radiocarbon dates are calibrated, unless designated as 14 C). Even though a sufficient amount of datable material could not be extracted from the tibia fragment representing the "Hamakita Lower Man," 17,910 ± 70 14 C BP (Beta-94983), or about 21 Ka BP, the age for a Panthera bone from the Felis Bed could apply to the tibia, as the two bones contained comparable levels of fluorine (Kondo & Matsu'ura, 2005). It should be noted here that the Hamakita Upper Layer remains show morphological characteristics similar to Jomon-age skeletons, while the Hamakita Lower Layer specimen does not (Suzuki, 1966), suggesting arrivals of hominids from at least two different sources during the Pleistocene. ...
Chapter
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Humans arrived in the Japanese Archipelago by at least 38 Ka (thousand years) ago. Between 40 and 30 Ka ago when sea levels were lowered by 80 m the three islands of Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu combined to form the Paleo-Honshu Island. The islands of Hokkaido and Sakhalin were connected to Russia as the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido Peninsula. The straits of Korea and Tsugaru remained open even during the LGM. Anatomically modern humans occupied Okinawa and Ishigaki islands by 36.5 and 27 Ka ago, respectively. Another group accessed Paleo-Honshu by crossing the 40 km wide Korea Strait. Their assemblages contained edge ground axes that could have felled trees and hollowed out the trunks to form dug-out canoes. The assemblages included backed blades made on high-quality lithic materials, such as obsidian. Obsidian from Kozu Island was utilized on Paleo-Honshu as early as 38 Ka ago. This island was separated by 30–40 km of water even during the LGM. Also, obsidian from Koshidake on Kyushu has been found in Paleolithic sites on southern Korea. Microblades produced on wedge-shaped cores appear to have traversed the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Peninsula and then crossed the Tsugaru Strait to reach western Honshu by the end of the Pleistocene. By the late Pleistocene people in Northeast Asia possessed the knowledge and the equipment to traverse stretches of water. However, the earliest direct evidence of canoes does not appear until about 5.5 Ka ago in the Torihama shell midden during the Early Jomon.
... Specimens were separated into two groups: a tibia fragment that referred to an older biostratigraphic horizon called Felis Bed, and the remainder referring to a younger horizon of the Late Pleistocene (Suzuki 1966). The age difference was confirmed by recent re-application of fluorine tests by Kondo and Matsu'ura (2005), who also succeeded in obtaining measurable amounts of gelatine from three of the human bone fragments of the younger group that yielded dates in the order of 14,000 14 C BP, or about 17,000 cal. BP. ...
... BP. Even though a sufficient amount of datable material could not be extracted from the tibia fragment representing the "Hamakita Lower Man," 17,910 ± 70 14 C BP (Beta-94983), or about 21,000 cal BP, the age for a Panthera bone from the Felis Bed could apply to the tibia, as the two bones contained comparable levels of fluorine (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005). This is the oldest skeletal remain from the Japanese Archipelago, outside of the Ryukyu Islands. ...
Chapter
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In spite of the relatively short history of systematic research that started in the late 1940s, and the negative impact of the Fujimura’s frauds exposed in 2000, Paleolithic remains are known from over 14,500 sites in the Japanese Archipelago today. During the cold phases of the Pleistocene, the four major islands of the Japanese Archipelago merged into two: the Paleo-Honshu Island, consisting of the present Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu Islands, and the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kurile Peninsula, connected to the Russian Continent. Due to the volcanic nature of the soils, however, hominin fossils are recovered from only a handful of the sites. They suggest that the Ryukyu Islands were populated by people with affinities with Southeast Asia and/or Austro-Melanesian region by about 25,000 cal. years ago, who seem to have co-existed with another group who arrived later in the Pleistocene from elsewhere in Asia. Two waves of population arrivals are also indicated by the available evidence from the single hominid site of Mikkabi on Honshu. The archaeological assemblages, consisting almost exclusively of stone tools, may be divided into 3 segments: Early Paleolithic (until 40,000 cal. BP), Late Paleolithic I (40,000-30,000 cal. BP), and Late Paleolithic II (30,000-16,000/10,000 cal. BP). The Early Paleolithic segment is represented by about 50 assemblages, composed of amorphous flakes and pebble tools. While they are not dissimilar to early assemblages elsewhere in Asia, archaeological opinions are divided as to their artifactual nature. There is consensus as to the occupation of the Archipelago by the behaviorally modern humans during the Late Peleolithic, after 40,000 cal. BP. During Late Paleolithic I, represented by about 500 assemblages, amorphous flakes continue, with the addition of blade-like tools, and edge-ground axes in some parts of the Archipelago. Trap-pits and indirect evidence for the use of watercraft are also present. The Aira-Tanzawa Tephra, the widespread horizon-marker tephra originating from the massive volcanic eruption in southern Kyushu, marks the beginning of Late Paleolithic II, to which the overwhelming majority of the Paleolithic assemblages belongs. The densely packed human groups, more sedentary after the extinction of large mammals, are highly diversified, in terms of the primary as well as secondary reduction techniques. Active interaction with the Asian mainland via the Korean Peninsula and through the Hokkaido-Sakhalin Peninsula is indicated by similarities in lithic artifacts and by the movement of lithic raw materials. The Paleolithic Period ends with the appearance of ceramics in the Paleo-Honshu about 16,000 cal. BP, and in Hokkaido and the Ryukyus about 10,000 cal. BP.
... Human fossils from the collapsed karstic cave site of Nekata in Hamakita City present a more complicated picture. The human remains from the upper layer of Nekata, known as the Hamakita upper specimen, are morphologically close to Jomon, while the specimen (tibia) from the lower level was not assigned to Jomon (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005;Suzuki 1966;Suzuki and Endo 1966). Because the associated date is from the Late Pleistocene, the tibia fossil was simply referred to as a "Palaeolithic hominid," with no specific assignment (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005:155). ...
... The dual-structure model proposes that humans first entered the Japanese Archipelago from Southeast Asia with a continual Note. Dates for the Minatogawa Fissure (Minatogawa Man series) are listed for references, because these dates were obtained from charcoals sampled from the clay layer with little certain association with the human remains (Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005). influx from the Jomon but were later assimilated by the Yayoi peoples, who originated from mainland Northeast Asia some 3,000 years ago. ...
Article
This paper provides a current understanding of human population history in the Pleistocene Japanese Archipelago, particularly with respect to the routes and timing of hunter-gatherer migrations, by incorporating multiple lines of evidence from the records of archaeology, human paleontology, and genetic studies. The human fossil remains are concentrated on the Ryukyu Islands in southwestern Japan, suggesting that there may have been a northward migration via the Ryukyu Islands. In contrast, studies of ancient mitochondrial DNA demonstrate genetic continuity among Holocene hunter-gatherer populations in the Paleo-Sakhalin-Hokkaido-Kurile Peninsula, whereas the Pleistocene genetic history is little explored. Although it is largely supported, the assumed population continuity from the Pleistocene to the Holocene inside the Japanese Archipelago is also challenged by an examination of the Paleolithic record and a comparison of the short- and long-term chronologies of the Japanese Paleolithic, implying that the Japanese Paleolithic record was created by hunter-gatherer population migrations from the north and south with substantial time lag and endemic technological invention and transformation during the Late Pleistocene.
... However, three 'Mikkabi Man' remains were directly dated to 7500-9500 BP, corresponding to the Initial Jomon period (Matsu'ura and Kondo, 2001b). To date, only human remains from the Upper Layer of the Hamakita Negata site in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture have been confirmed to be from the Pleistocene by direct radiocarbon dating of the human parietal, occipital, and humerus pieces, which dated to 14050 ± 50, 14200 ± 50 and 13860 ± 50 BP, respectively (Kondo and Matsu'ura, 2005). ...
... Furthermore, human fibula No. 8, with an age of 16 ka BP probably should be assigned to the Pleistocene as well. The radiocarbon ages reported from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave are clearly older than the dates from the Upper Layer of the Hamakita Negata site (14050 ± 50, 14200 ± 50, and 13860 ± 50 BP for parietal, occipital, and humerus; Kondo and Matsu'ura, 2005), the oldest radiocarbon ages for Japanese human remains previously reported. Hence, these materials from Ishigaki Island are the oldest directly dated human skeletons in Japan, although some reservoir effects by 14 C-depleted carbon from marine and calcareous environments might make those dates a few hundred years older. ...
Article
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Nine human remains were recovered from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave on Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, between 2007 and 2009. Six of the nine samples produced well-preserved biogenic collagen, which was submitted to radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry. Three human samples (Nos. 2, 4, and 8) from the fossil chamber were dated to between 16 and 20 ka BP, and can clearly be assigned to the Late Pleistocene. One animal bone from the same chamber which was treated and measured for radiocarbon independently was also of great antiquity (c. 12 ka BP). These dates are the first concrete evidence of human occupation on the Ryukyu Islands during the Pleistocene, based on the direct radiocarbon dates of human remains. It is expected that more human remains and archaeological objects of the Pleistocene will be recovered from Shiraho-Saonetabaru Cave and the surrounding region by future intensive collaborations between anthropologists, archaeologists, and speleologists.
... Although the earliest Jomon sites date to ~15,000 BP 29 , the oldest human remains in Japan are dated to ~30,000 BP 55 . There is debate over the extent of continuity between the Neolithic Jomon and the preceding Palaeolithic population(s) of Japan 55 , but there are apparent morphological similarities between the Jomon and some of the earliest well-preserved Japanese inhabitants, dated to ~30-15,000 BP [56][57][58] . The Jomon therefore, can be said to have at least some input from populations with a history in Japan dating back to ~30,000 BP. ...
Article
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To understand human evolution it is critical to clarify which adaptations enabled our colonisation of novel ecological niches. For any species climate is a fundamental source of environmental stress during range expansion. Mammalian climatic adaptations include changes in size and shape reflected in skeletal dimensions and humans fit general primate ecogeographic patterns. It remains unclear however, whether there are also comparable amounts of adaptation in humans, which has implications for understanding the relative importance of biological/behavioural mechanisms in human evolution. We compare cranial variation between prehistoric human populations from throughout Japan and ecologically comparable groups of macaques. We compare amounts of intraspecific variation and covariation between cranial shape and ecological variables. Given equal rates and sufficient time for adaptation for both groups, human conservation of non-human primate adaptation should result in comparable variation and patterns of covariation in both species. In fact, we find similar amounts of intraspecific variation in both species, but no covariation between shape and climate in humans, contrasting with strong covariation in macaques. The lack of covariation in humans may suggest a disconnect in climatic adaptation strategies from other primates. We suggest this is due to the importance of human behavioural adaptations, which act as a buffer from climatic stress and were likely key to our evolutionary success. Understanding the nature of the adaptations that enabled Homo sapiens to become such a successful species, colo-nising the vast majority of ecological niches globally, is a key question in the study of human evolution. Although other hominin taxa, such as H. erectus, adapted to novel habitats during periods of range expansion 1 , no other hominin has ever inhabited such a diversity of environments and it can be argued that the strategies enabling this expansion are the defining characteristics of H. sapiens 2,3. For any species, climate results in important stressors, which present amongst the greatest challenges in new environments. It has long been appreciated that amongst the suite of climatic adaptations employed by mammals are skeletal changes in size and shape such as those governed by Bergmann's and Allen's rules. These rules state that a larger, relatively rounder shape with short appendages is advantageous in conserving heat in cold climates, while the converse applies in hot climates 4-7. In the primate (including human) cranium these rules seem to be obeyed by selection for larger, rounder neurocrania and flatter, broader faces in cold-adapted forms 8-20. Internal and external nasal morphology is also a key site of climatic adaptation, changing form to optimise heat and moisture retention/loss depending on the requirements of the habitat 12,17,20-25 and likely affecting surrounding craniofacial morphology in turn 26,27. In a recent paper 12 , we showed that Japanese macaques from different latitudes throughout the Japanese Archipelago show craniofacial and postcranial differences in morphology which correspond with neither dietary differences nor phylogenetic patterns. The morphology characterising northerly macaques relative to southerly
... Although the earliest Jomon sites date to ~15,000 BP 29 , the oldest human remains in Japan are dated to ~30,000 BP 55 . There is debate over the extent of continuity between the Neolithic Jomon and the preceding Palaeolithic population(s) of Japan 55 , but there are apparent morphological similarities between the Jomon and some of the earliest well-preserved Japanese inhabitants, dated to ~30-15,000 BP [56][57][58] . The Jomon therefore, can be said to have at least some input from populations with a history in Japan dating back to ~30,000 BP. ...
Article
Full-text available
To understand human evolution it is critical to clarify which adaptations enabled our colonisation of novel ecological niches. For any species climate is a fundamental source of environmental stress during range expansion. Mammalian climatic adaptations include changes in size and shape reflected in skeletal dimensions and humans fit general primate ecogeographic patterns. It remains unclear however, whether there are also comparable amounts of adaptation in humans, which has implications for understanding the relative importance of biological/behavioural mechanisms in human evolution. We compare cranial variation between prehistoric human populations from throughout Japan and ecologically comparable groups of macaques. We compare amounts of intraspecific variation and covariation between cranial shape and ecological variables. Given equal rates and sufficient time for adaptation for both groups, human conservation of non-human primate adaptation should result in comparable variation and patterns of covariation in both species. In fact, we find similar amounts of intraspecific variation in both species, but no covariation between shape and climate in humans, contrasting with strong covariation in macaques. The lack of covariation in humans may suggest a disconnect in climatic adaptation strategies from other primates. We suggest this is due to the importance of human behavioural adaptations, which act as a buffer from climatic stress and were likely key to our evolutionary success.
... the soil, which is derived from volcanic ash. The sole case is that of the fragmentary Hamakita human remains (around 17-22 kBP) discovered in Shizuoka Prefecture in the central area of Honshu (Suzuki 1966;Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005). ...
Article
Context: The Ryukyu Islands stretch across a southwestern area of the Japanese Archipelago. Because of their unique geographical and historical backgrounds, Ryukyuans have their own genetic and phenotypic characteristics, which have been disclosed in previous anthropological and biomedical studies. Objective: The history, peopling and biomedical and genetic characteristics of Ryukyuans are reviewed and future research directions are discussed. Conclusion: Morphological and genetic studies have suggested the complex demographic history of Ryukyuans and their relationships with other Asian populations. Knowledge of population formation processes is important to understand the distribution of pathogens. In viral infectious diseases, some strains that may be associated with disease symptoms are specific to Ryukyuans. Dramatic changes in diet have played an important role among Ryukyuans in terms of increases in lifestyle-related diseases and mortality risks. To achieve a better understanding of pathogenic disease factors, further integration of findings regarding the genetic and biomedical characteristics of the Ryukyuans is needed.
... b Konishi and Yoshikawa (1999) estimated the initial dispersal to the Paleo-Honshu was in MIS 12 crossing presumed land bridge on the Tsugaru Strait. c Evidence based on archaeological record from the Nekata site at Hamakita (Kondo and Matsu'ura, 2005). d Evidence based on human paleontological record from the Yamashita-cho (Suzuki, 1983). ...
Article
To understand the Late Pleistocene human dispersals to the Japanese Archipelago, we examine the paleobathymetric changes in and around the archipelago based on the results of recent paleoclimatological study of the Japan Sea that has provided millennium-scale sea level changes, the Pleistocene mammalian faunal record (e.g., extinct proboscideans), and the Paleolithic archaeological record. Proboscideans likely migrated from continental East Asia to Paleo-Honshu (consisting of the present day Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu islands) and the Ryukyu islands via land bridges across the Tsushima Strait and Yonaguni Strait during the coldest periods of the Middle Pleistocene (MIS 6, 12, 16, and probably 35). However, no clear evidence of hominin arrival in the archipelago has been dated to the Middle Pleistocene. Further, land bridges connecting continental East Asia and Paleo-Honshu were not present during the period of initial major human dispersals to the Japanese Archipelago, i.e., Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 and 2. Thus, initial dispersals to Paleo-Honshu and the Ryukyus were achieved by watercraft and would have involved advanced seafaring skills. The paucity of archaeological sites before the onset of late MIS 3 (prior to 40. ka) and the significant increase of archaeological sites since late MIS 3 suggests that increasing population density on the East Asian mainland may have been a factor for humans to disperse into the Japanese Archipelago.
... The acid-insoluble fraction was treated with 0.1M NaOH to remove humates and lipids. The gelatin fraction was extracted by heating the residue with 0.001M HCl at 90°C for 10 hr, and then freeze-dried (Kondo et al. 1992;Matsu'ura and Kondo 2001;Kondo and Matsu'ura 2005). It was converted to graphite at Paleo Labo Co., Ltd (Gifu, Japan). ...
Article
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This article investigates the marine reservoir effects from apparent age differences among molluskan shells, birds, and sea mammals from the Hamanaka 2 archaeological site, Rebun Island, Japan, which was occupied during the latter half of the Late Jomon period (1300−1200 cal BC). The radiocarbon ages were younger in the order of charred wood<marine molluskan shells<Alcidae<Japanese sea lion≤charred materials on potsherds. According to data from molluskan shells from the site, the local marine reservoir correction (ΔR) for the Soya Warm Current, which flows near Rebun Island, was 172±39 ¹⁴ C yr. ΔR values of bone collagen for Alcidae (a family of seabirds) and Japanese sea lion were 289 and 389 ¹⁴ C yr, respectively. A ΔR value of 447±55 ¹⁴ C yr was obtained on charred material from the inner surfaces of potsherds at Hamanaka 2. The different reservoir effects relate to the differences in the diets or habitats of the shellfish, sea lion, and seabird remains at the site.
... Crania, postcrania Weidenreich, 1939;Wu, 1961;Wu and Poirier, 1995 Lijiang, Yunnan Province Late Pleistocene Skull Wu and Poirier, 1995 Chuandong, Guizhou Province Terminal Pleistocene/earliest Holocene 2 skulls, isolated incisor Etler, 1996;Huang, 1989;Yu, 1984 Zhiren Cave, Guangxi > 100 Mandible Liu et al., 2010a Ziyang, Sichuan* 7-39 Partial cranium Woo, 1958;Wu and Poirier, 1995 Indonesia Wadjak* 6.5 Cranium Storm, 1995 Japan Hamakita ca. 14-17 Cranium, postcrania Kondo and Matsu'ura, 2005;Suzuki, 1966 Pinzu-Abu 26 Crania, postcrania Hamada, 1985;Sakura, 1981 Postcrania (immature) Kobayashi et al., 1971;Suzuki, 1983;Takamiya et al., 1975 Arambourg and Fromaget, 1938;Bacon et al., 2008Bacon et al., , 2010Demeter et al., 2009;Fromaget, 1940bTam Pong* Crania Demeter, 2000 Malaysia Niah Cave 39-45 Cranium Barker et al., 2007;Brothwell, 1960 Mongolia Salkhit 16-28 35-65 ...
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In February 1934, Jacques Fromaget of the Geological Service of Indochina discovered the Tam Hang rockshelter during prospecting work in Northern Laos. During his excavations, the geologist discovered seventeen anatomically modern human skulls. Ten of these skulls have been recovered in association with six largely-complete skeletons. These fossils, which are dated by 14C to 15.7 ka, are used to address issues related to anatomical variation and migration in Southeast Asia during the Late Pleistocene. Excellent preservation of the skeletal material allows for estimation of body size and shape in a sample of young adults. Cranial metrics are also used to assess affiliations between Tam Hang and other Southeast Asian fossil samples in an effort to address questions about population migration. This fossil sample demonstrates that Late Pleistocene human activity may be productively addressed by continued work in the highlands of mainland Southeast Asia.RésuméC’est en février 1934, lors d’une mission de prospection, que Jacques Fromaget, géologue auprès du Service géologique d’Indochine, a découvert l’abri sous roche de Tam Hang. Le site se situe sur le versant sud-est de la Chaîne annamitique septentrionale au nord du Laos. Le géologue a mis au jour, lors de ses fouilles, dix-sept crânes d’anatomie moderne, parmi lesquels dix ont été préservés. Six d’entre eux sont associés à du postcrânien. L’étude de ces fossiles, datés de 15,7 ka par le 14C permet de mieux comprendre comment se sont opérées les migrations humaines en Asie du Sud-Est continentale durant le Pléistocène supérieur récent. L’excellent état de conservation de ces individus permet d’estimer la taille et la morphologie d’une population composée de jeunes adultes. Seules des recherches continues en Asie du Sud-Est continentale affineront nos connaissances sur les origines de l’Homme dans la région.
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The Prehistory of Human Migration - Human Expansion, Resource Use, and Mortuary Practice in Maritime Asia presents the current state of archaeological research on the migration and expansion of the first modern humans (Homo sapiens) into the maritime regions of Asia and Oceania. This area, which stretches geographically from the North and Southeast Asian mainland through the archipelagos of Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia all the way to Oceania, has provided us with numerous new insights and discoveries based on data from archaeological and bioanthropological research, thus revealing the cognitive abilities as well as the behavioural adaptations and technological innovations of these early islanders and seafarers that led to the successful colonization of this unique island world. In seven chapters devoted to the themes ‘Modern Human Migration to Maritime Asia and Oceania’, ‘Modern Human Migration, Technology and Resource Use in Maritime Asia’, and ‘Modern Human Migration and Mortuary Practices in Maritime Asia’, leading archaeologists present their research in Wallacea, the Ryukyu Islands (East Asia), and the coastal regions of Southeast and Northeast Asia, and discuss their findings on early modern human migration to Maritime Asia, the utilization of its diverse resources, and the belief systems of these early islanders during the Late Pleistocene.
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Excavations in the 1960s at the Iwashita Cave site, Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, resulted in the discovery of a number of human skeletal remains from the Initial Jomon phase contexts, as well as a few more individuals from the succeeding Early Jomon phase. Basic anatomical information of these materials has been published in 1968. However, they have attracted limited attention from anthropologists than they deserve, despite the growing interest in the Initial Jomon people. Here, we report our reevaluation of individual identification, as well as age and sex for each individual. Around 30 Initial Jomon individuals are represented in the collection, with additional two or more individuals belong to the Early Jomon phases. Intriguing observation made during the work includes: 1) the Initial Jomon individuals from this site share gracile skeletal characteristics with the Initial Jomon individuals from other regions of Japan; 2) Among the 19 adult individuals from the Initial Jomon phase, only young adults were represented as far as we can ascertain (N = 8), with no evidence for the presence of senior adults; 3) Most individuals display extremely severe occlusal wear, but this is a result of fast wear rate and thus should not be used to estimate their ages. Implications derived from these findings are discussed.
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The corpus of radiocarbon dates run directly on Pleistocene-age human remains in Eurasia (∼120 values, with ∼80 of them found to be reliable) is analyzed and interpreted. The latest Neanderthals are dated to ∼34,000–30,500 BP (∼38,800–35,400 cal BP). They probably coexisted with the first modern humans at ∼36,200–30,200 BP (∼42,500–32,800 cal BP) in the western and central parts of Europe. The earliest direct 14 C dates on modern humans in Eurasia are ∼34,950–33,300 BP (∼40,400–37,800 cal BP). A paucity of 14 C dates corresponding to the LGM is evident for Europe, but Asia perhaps had larger populations during this timespan. The main criteria for the selection of bone/tooth material for direct 14 C dating as now widely accepted are (1) the collagen yield (generally, 1% or more) and (2) the C:N ratio (within the 2.9–3.4 range).
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A compilation of direct age determinations for Late Pleistocene human fossils in eastern Europe and Asia is presented in this paper, and current problems with the dating of hominids in these regions are discussed. Only 25 human finds (4 Neanderthals and 21 modern humans) have been directly dated from Pleistocene eastern Europe and Asia. Indirect dating of human remains (using presumably associated organics) often is insecure, especially when information about the exact provenance of human fossils is lacking. Continuation of direct dating of Late Pleistocene humans in Eurasia, primarily with the help of the accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C method, is therefore an urgent task. © 2012 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona.
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The Jomon people were Neolithic hunter gatherers that inhabited the Japanese archipelago from 12000 BP to 2300 BP. Because the origin of the Jomonese has been a mystery for some time, we examine pervious studies and compare dental traits between the Jomonese and other peoples from Japan and Asia from different eras herein. Our findings suggest that the Jomon people possibly originated in Southeast Asia.
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A series of human fossils, the so-called ‘Minatogawa Man’ material, unearthed from the fissure site at the Minatogawa limestone quarry on Okinawa Island, is well known as the best preserved Pleistocene human remains in Japan. Another series of ‘Upper Minatogawa’ human remains was also recovered from the same fissure site. Although the Upper Minatogawa series was supposed to be derived from higher horizons than the Minatogawa series, and this supposition was provisionally supported by the fluorine dating of bones, the chronological and/or stratigraphical relationships of individual human specimens have nevertheless not been clarified. Here we report newly obtained data on the relative chronology of the Minatogawa and the Upper Minatogawa series by additional element analyses (strontium and barium) of bones, and draw the following inferences: (1) the Upper Minatogawa human remains are younger than the Minatogawa human remains (i.e. ‘Minatogawa Man’) as a group; (2) however, a wider age range is implied for the ‘Minatogawa Man’ series, and some of the specimens such as Minatogawa IV and maybe Minatogawa II are comparable in age to the Upper Minatogawa series. Thus, the ‘Minatogawa Man’ series may not comprise a single chronological group, although they may be of one morphological group. We also discuss the geological age of the Minatogawa fossil assemblages, and address preliminary palaeoanthropological implications concerning the population history of the Japanese archipelago in the Late Pleistocene.
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The corpus of radiocarbon dates run directly on Pleistocene-age human remains in Eurasia (similar to 120 values, with similar to 80 of them found to be reliable) is analyzed and interpreted. The latest Neanderthals are dated to similar to 34,000-30,500 BP (similar to 38,800-35,400 cal BP). They probably coexisted with the first modern humans at similar to 36,200-30,200 BP (similar to 42,500-32,800 cal BP) in the western and central parts of Europe. The earliest direct C-14 dates on modern humans in Eurasia are similar to 34,950-33,300 BP (similar to 40,400-37,800 cal BP). A paucity of C-14 dates corresponding to the LGM is evident for Europe, but Asia perhaps had larger populations during this timespan. The main criteria for the selection of bone/tooth material for direct 14C dating as now widely accepted are (1) the collagen yield (generally, 1% or more) and (2) the C:N ratio (within the 2.9-3.4 range).
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An expansion in archaeological excavations and site identifications over the last 30 years, particularly through an increase in salvage projects and the growth of government archaeology in Japan, has made the Japanese Islands one of the most dense regions of Palaeolithic archaeological sites in East Asia. The history of Pleistocene site discoveries and chronological frameworks for Palaeolithic lithic industries are summarized, followed by a critical review of research trajectories in the accumulation of a Palaeolithic record, specifically in terms of changes in relationships among academic archaeology, government archaeology, the public, and mass media. This article also attempts to clarify the peculiar structure of current Japanese archaeology that allowed the construction of a falsified Palaeolithic prehistory by some unscrupulous researchers for 20 years until its sensational exposure by a national daily in 2000.
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Human skeletal remains of Late Pleistocene ages are known from both continental and insular regions of East Asia. This paper critically reviews some of these, with the aim of clarifying what is known and what remain to be known about fossil evidence regarding the origins, dispersals, and morphological diversification of early modern humans in the area. The focus is on relatively well-dated and/or morphologically informative specimens, including those from Zhiren Cave in South China, Tianyuan Cave and Upper Cave in North China, Salkhit in East Mongolia, and Yamashita-cho Cave I and Minatogawa Fissure in Okinawa, Japan. Although uncertainties still remain in the chronology and morphological status of some of these specimens, this small sample of fossil specimens has the potential to significantly contribute to an understanding of the early population history in East Asia. Compatibility of the available fossil evidence with recent genetic evidence is also discussed.
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Inter-populational heterogeneity of the Neolithic Jomon hunter-gatherers of Japan was examined via 21 non-metric dental traits. Skeletal samples from nine local sites and five regional groups of the middle to final stages of the Jornon period were analyzed, and inter-site comparisons were made among five representative sites (Ubayama, Nakazuma, Ikawazu, Yoshiko, and Tsukumo). Statistically significant differences were found in 4/21 traits in the inter-site comparisons, and in 5/21 traits in the inter-regional comparisons between the Hokkaido, Tohoku, Kanto, Tokai, and Sanyo groups. Smith's distances suggest that the inter-regional differences within the Jomon assemblages are minor when compared with differences from the non-Jomon samples such as the Yayoi immigrants, Kofun, and modem Japanese. Furthermore, examination of the wider geographical variation of the Jornon people (eastern versus western) revealed significant differences in only 2/21 traits. Distance analysis showed that the eastern and western Jomon groups clustered together, and exhibited the greatest affinities with present-day Southeast Asians among comparable East Asian and Pacific population samples. The Jornon people can be collectively regarded as relatively homogeneous, within the broader context of East Asian and Pacific intra-population variation.
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Minatogawa 1 is one of the rare well-preserved remains of Late Paleolithic Homo sapiens from East Asia, and is central to the investigation on the earlier phase of peopling in this region. In order to test the recent claim that the cranium and mandible of this specimen belong to different individuals, I re-examined its occlusion allowing for minor but significant distortion present in the original fossil specimen. It was confirmed that, when a correction is made for such a distortion, the maxillary and mandibular dentitions occlude perfectly in a normal Class I relation. Thus, the cranium and mandible of Minatogawa 1 no doubt belong to the same individual. A revised description on the state of tooth wear in Minatogawa 1 is also presented. No clear evidence of habitual non-masticatory oral activities is recognized, and the severe occlusal wear in this individual seems to result primarily from the nature of their foods and/or the food preparation techniques they used.
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In the late Late Pleistocene (lLP), Japanese terrestrial large mammals consisted of two main groups; the Palaeoloxodon-Sinomegaceroides complex and the mammoth fauna. The former inhabited temperate forests and the latter were adapted to patches of taiga and grassland in cold environments. Among the two groups, almost all large mammals became extinct in the Late Quaternary. The lLP extinction is one of the most interesting topics currently debated in Japan.This paper evaluates previously reported radiocarbon dates of mammal fossils to determine the timing of lLP megafaunal extinctions on the Japanese Archipelago. Unreliable specimens which were dated by conventional 14C decay counting, samples obtained from poorly preserved fossils, samples inconsistent with geological context, and samples dated by combining bone fragments of several species and whose exact provenances are unknown are rejected. The timing of extinctions was compared with the vegetational changes. As a result, the present paper indicates that the extinction of large mammals in the Palaeoloxodon-Sinomegaceroides complex roughly coincided with the onset of the last glacial maximum (LGM: from ca. 25,000 BP to 16,000 BP) and subsequent domination by subarctic conifers. In contrast, the mammoth fauna survived the LGM and became extinct or migrated northward when the climate started to ameliorate. The lLP extinction on the Japanese Islands occurred in two pulses. These results imply that the main causes of lLP extinction on the Japanese Archipelago were changes of the ecosystem driven by climatic changes rather than “overkill” by human hunters.
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Human skeletal remains were recovered in 1959 and 1961 from Tadaki Quarry at Mikkabi, central Japan. The mammalian fauna of the site includes extinct species of elephant (Palaeoloxodon naumanni) and giant deer (Sino megaceros sp.), and the Mikkabi human remains have been considered to date back to the Late Pleistocene. Radiocarbon dating and revised fluorine dating of the human and non-human bones, however as we report here, show that the faunal remains from the Mikkabi site have a wide age range extending from the Late Pleistocene to the early Holocene, and also lead to the conclusion that the Mikkabi hominids are attributable to the early Holocene.
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One of the oldest, well-dated, early modern human specimens from eastern Asia is the Okinawan Yamashita-cho 1 juvenile (ca. 6 year old) femur and tibia,14C dated to >32,000 BP. The diaphyses of the specimen are compared with recent human and archaicHomojuveniles using cross-sectional geometric parameters (areas and second moments of area obtained through external molding and multiple plane radiography) to assess axial and bending strengths. Despite an incipient femoral pilaster (not seen in archaicHomobut predominant among early modern humans), the Yamashita-cho 1 femoral and tibial midshafts fall close to the archaic humans and at the limits of recent human variation in terms of diaphyseal cross-sectional shape [Ix/Iy, Imax/Imin, % cortical area (CA)] and robusticity [CA-STD and polar second moment of area (J)-STD]. In contrast, the Yamashita-cho 1 femoral neck-shaft angle of 136° and its predicted adult value of ca. 132° place it well above those of archaicHomo, and close to the values for African, Near Eastern and more recent eastern Asian early modern humans. In this respect, Yamashita-cho 1 is aligned with early modern humans. These data provide a mosaic pattern, in which diaphyseal robusticity and the cross-sectional distribution of bone parallel those seen in archaicHomo, whereas the presence of an incipient pilaster and the high neck-shaft angle align the specimen with early modern humans. Given that most of these features are developmentally plastic, these imply a changing ontogenetic pattern of lower-limb loading regimes in eastern Asia associated with the emergence of modern humans.