Posted on 04/28/2005 7:33:06 AM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
New evidence challenges "Out-of-Africa" hypothesis of modern human origins
WUHAN, April 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese archaeologists said newly found evidence proves that a valley of Qingjiang River, a tributary on the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, might be one of the regions where Homo sapiens, or modern man, originated.
The finding challenges the "Out-of-Africa" hypothesis of modern human origins, according to which about 100,000 years ago modern humans originated in Africa, migrated to other continents, and replaced populations of archaic humans across the globe.
The finding comes from a large-scale excavation launched in the Qingjiang River Valley in 1980s when construction began on a range of hydropower stations on the Qingjiang River, a fellow researcher with the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology.
Archaeologists discovered three human tooth fossils in one mountain cave in Mazhaping Village, in the Gaoping Township of Jianshi County, western Hubei Province, and found pieces of lithic technology and evidence of fire usage in Minor Cave in Banxia. There were similar findings in Nianyu Mountain and in Zhadong Cave in Banxia, all in Changyang Prefecture of the Qiangjiang River Valley.
A special research panel named the Jianshi Man research team has been set up to analyze the findings.
Zheng Shaohua, a member of the Jianshi man research team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, confirmed the tooth fossils belonged to humans dating back between 2.15 and 1.95 million years ago.
The archaeologists also found fossils of bone implements in the cultural strata at the ruins where the human tooth fossils were discovered.
The fossilized bone implements bear traces of human beating, testifying that humans, not apes, lived inside the mountain cave, said Qiu Zhanxiang, another member on the Jianshi Man research team.
The pieces of lithic technology and traces of human fire usage found in Minor Cave in Banxia were said to date back 130,000 years, the ruins of human fire usage in Nianyu Mountain were dated as 120, 000 years or 90,000 years old, while pieces of lithic technology and traces of fire usage found in Zhadong Cave in Banxia, were dated as 27,000 years old, said Professor Zheng.
Before these latest archaeological findings, Chinese archaeologists had found fossils of what is now known as Changyang Man in 1957 under the leadership of renowned Chinese paleoanthropologist Jia Lanpo. Changyang Man represents early Homo sapiens dating back 200,000 years. The latest archaeological findings together with the earlier discovery of Changyang Man all prove there was continuity in Homo sapiens' development in China, said Liu Qingzhu, head of the Archaeology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "They are also of great significance to research on Paleolithic era in China and East Asia, and theories regarding multiple origins of mankind," said Liu.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
If homo sapiens is the result of cross-breeding among different humanoids originating from different regions of the world, the one from Africa and the one from E. Asia more than 100K years ago could be essentially different subspecies, neither of which are homo sapiens.
Ping!
You might find this interesting.
The only people supporting "out-of-africa" are the pc crowds that try to show africa has even been of any value in the history of the world.
Then as now, it is a pretty useless place.
RACE AND HUMAN EVOLUTION : A FATAL ATTRACTION by Milford Wolpoff, Rachel Caspari
It is a discussion of just what the article you posted seems to indicate and is very readable.
Sounds like this might challenge the 100,000 year date, not necessarily the hypothesis.
Once the red motherland is in proper control of the world, we will be getting a lot of these updates to our previously held silly notions about history, science, politics, and religion as part of our noble re-education. Even Kofi might learn a few new things.
Yeah, they would claim Zhonghua(The Shining Middle = China) is the center of the world. It was also where the Garden of Eden was. I also worry about such a political motivation.
Bingo!
We have a winner!
Isn't this the same group that released the bird/dinosaur composite fake a few years ago? No matter. Communist or Democrat it's all the same "Believe what I tell you NOW, forget what I said then..." ;)
Bucky Fuller long held that man originated in Southeast Asia.
bttt
EXACTLY!!
This archeological find could be a compete lie to make the Chinese people look capable of everything including starting the human race. Which also makes mainland China look more powerful, worthy of respect and admiration
Isn't this the same group that released the bird/dinosaur composite fake a few years ago? No matter. Communist or Democrat it's all the same "Believe what I tell you NOW, forget what I said then..." ;)
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They're all full of it. Anyone with an ounce of brains knows that planet Earth is only 6000 years old, right?
RIGHT ??? ;-))
They claimed the Russians had invented the automobile, the airplane and the rocket. It was pretty funny, for awhile, anyway.
The archeopteryx fake goes back to Germany, 140 years ago. But fakery pays, so the Chinese decided to push one of their own.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on, off, or alter the "Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list --
Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
The GGG Digest -- Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)
Looks like the Chinese have taken a page from the old Soviet Union...
Why do you think Tienamin Sq. is where it is?
According to these folks the earth is 6,418 (-91 / +155) years old.
If you are going to be sarcastic, be precise. ;)
I publicly hold no views one way or the other because I don't discuss my or anyone else's religion. Figure we all have our own way of looking at it and theirs is just as likely to be wrong as mine.
Out of Africa is a fact as far as the major populations are concerned as DNA studies have proven. The question isn't if the current populations of the world came out of Africa, but were they somewhere else before going into Africa.
The current interglacial period began 10,000 years ago. The last ice age was 100,000 years long prior to that. It is possible that an Asian population migrated to Africa during a previous interglacial period, say 200,000 years ago, and that's where we came from. The problem is that there are human decendents' remains in Africa 4 million years old.
Human remains 2 million years old in Asia can mean that prehumans migrated to asia from Africa, but wouldn't change the out of Africa hypothosis.
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