Dali (fossil)
Encyclopedia
The Dali Skull, or Dali Man , is a nearly complete fossilized skull, probably representing an early form of Archaic Homo sapiens
which lived in the Late Middle Pleistocene
period. It was discovered by Shuntang Liu in 1978 in Dali County in the Shaanxi
Province of China
Although dating has been a subject of debate, the fossil is estimated to be about 209 000 years old, and is considered to be the most complete skull of that time period found in China. The Dali cranium is currently housed in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing
, China.
. It has a mixture of traits from both Homo erectus
and Homo sapiens. The details of the face and skull are however distinct from European Neandertals and earlier European hominids like the finds from Petralona and Atapuerca.
Unlike H. erectus skulls, the Dali skulls lack the "pinched" look between the face and the cranial vault.
. The curvature is more similar structurally to the brow ridges in archaic humans
from Europe and Africa. The cheek bones are delicate, and the nasal bone flattened, again a curious combination of traits. During fossilization, the upper jaw has been fractured and dislocated upwards, giving the cranium the appearance of having a very short face. If reconstructed, the face would be probably be similar in overall dimensions to that of the Jinniushan man skull.
and others categorizing it as an early representative of Homo sapiens, and as such there is no current consensus on the species status of the Dali fossil. Some anthropologists, notably many Chinese representatives, cite the characteristics of the Dali cranium and other similar Chinese fossils of that era as evidence for genetic continuity in modern H. sapiens today, as Dali's traits are commonly found in modern Chinese H. sapiens populations. In turn, it is often argued that modern Chinese humans did not evolve in Africa, but instead evolved in China from a separate lineage of H. erectus. This position is consistent with the "Multiregional hypothesis," which states that different human populations across the planet had evolved with current racial characteristics in separate environments, and is contrary to the popular "Recent single-origin hypothesis," which asserts that modern H. sapiens evolved solely in Africa and spread throughout the planet during a recent exodus.
, a 120 to 140 000 year old fragmentary skull from Guangdong
in China
shows the same general contours of the forehead. A partial female skeleton with skull from Jinniushan (also China) seems to belong to the same group, characterized by a very robust skull cap but less robust skull base. A possibly forth member could be the Narmada skull from the Madhya Pradesh
in India
, consisting of a sigle robust cranial vault
.
The Denisova hominin
, represented by a very robust finger bone found in the Altai mountains
in Russia
is quoted as likely linked to the Dali people. Surprisingly, DNA studies show the bone belong to a woman, with Mitochondrial DNA
linking it to a very deep split in the human tree, at around 1 million years old. This would make the DNA erectus rather than heidelbergensis or other more recent splits. However, the analysis of the nuclear DNA points to a sister group relationship with the neanderthals.
Archaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
which lived in the Late Middle Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
period. It was discovered by Shuntang Liu in 1978 in Dali County in the Shaanxi
Shaanxi
' is a province in the central part of Mainland China, and it includes portions of the Loess Plateau on the middle reaches of the Yellow River in addition to the Qinling Mountains across the southern part of this province...
Province of China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
Although dating has been a subject of debate, the fossil is estimated to be about 209 000 years old, and is considered to be the most complete skull of that time period found in China. The Dali cranium is currently housed in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
, China.
Characteristics of the Dali fossil
The Dali cranium is interesting to modern anthropologists as it is possibly an ideal specimen of an archaic Homo sapiensArchaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
. It has a mixture of traits from both Homo erectus
Homo erectus
Homo erectus is an extinct species of hominid that lived from the end of the Pliocene epoch to the later Pleistocene, about . The species originated in Africa and spread as far as India, China and Java. There is still disagreement on the subject of the classification, ancestry, and progeny of H...
and Homo sapiens. The details of the face and skull are however distinct from European Neandertals and earlier European hominids like the finds from Petralona and Atapuerca.
Skull vault
The skull is low and long, though the posterior end of the skull is rounded, unlike the contemporary broad-based H. erectus or top-wide skull of modern humans. It does however bear a prominent sagital crest, a trait found in H. erectus but in few modern humans. The brain appears to have been sitting mainly behind the face, giving an extremely low forehead. The cranial capacity is estimated to around 1 120 cc, at the lower end of the modern human range, and upper end of the H. erectus range. The base of the cranium is less robust than in H. erectus. The posterior margin lacks the heavy neck muscle attachment seen in that group. Unlike the distinct tubular form seen in H. erectus, the tympanic plate is thin and foreshortened, a condition similar to that of modern humans.Unlike H. erectus skulls, the Dali skulls lack the "pinched" look between the face and the cranial vault.
Face
The face is topped by massive brow ridges. The ridges curve over each eye, unlike the straight bar-like ridges seen at the Peking man material from ZhoukoudianZhoukoudian
Zhoukoudian or Choukoutien is a cave system in Beijing, China. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus, dubbed Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the gigantic hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris...
. The curvature is more similar structurally to the brow ridges in archaic humans
Archaic Homo sapiens
Archaic Homo sapiens is a loosely defined term used to describe a number of varieties of Homo, as opposed to anatomically modern humans , in the period beginning 500,000 years ago....
from Europe and Africa. The cheek bones are delicate, and the nasal bone flattened, again a curious combination of traits. During fossilization, the upper jaw has been fractured and dislocated upwards, giving the cranium the appearance of having a very short face. If reconstructed, the face would be probably be similar in overall dimensions to that of the Jinniushan man skull.
Interpretation
There has been considerable debate regarding how to classify the fossil in terms of species, with some anthropologists insisting it to be a regional variant of Homo heidelbergensisHomo heidelbergensis
Homo heidelbergensis is an extinct species of the genus Homo which may be the direct ancestor of both Homo neanderthalensis in Europe and Homo sapiens. The best evidence found for these hominins date between 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. H...
and others categorizing it as an early representative of Homo sapiens, and as such there is no current consensus on the species status of the Dali fossil. Some anthropologists, notably many Chinese representatives, cite the characteristics of the Dali cranium and other similar Chinese fossils of that era as evidence for genetic continuity in modern H. sapiens today, as Dali's traits are commonly found in modern Chinese H. sapiens populations. In turn, it is often argued that modern Chinese humans did not evolve in Africa, but instead evolved in China from a separate lineage of H. erectus. This position is consistent with the "Multiregional hypothesis," which states that different human populations across the planet had evolved with current racial characteristics in separate environments, and is contrary to the popular "Recent single-origin hypothesis," which asserts that modern H. sapiens evolved solely in Africa and spread throughout the planet during a recent exodus.
Other possible Dali-type finds
An assortment of primitive Homo skulls have tentatively been placed with the Dali find. The Maba ManMaba Man
Maba Man is the pre-modern hominid whose remains were discovered in caves near the town called Maba, near Shaoguan city in the north part of Guangdong province, China....
, a 120 to 140 000 year old fragmentary skull from Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
shows the same general contours of the forehead. A partial female skeleton with skull from Jinniushan (also China) seems to belong to the same group, characterized by a very robust skull cap but less robust skull base. A possibly forth member could be the Narmada skull from the Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, consisting of a sigle robust cranial vault
Cranial vault
The cranial vault is the space in the skull within the neurocranium, occupied by the brain. In humans, the size and shape of the brain, may be affected by the size of the vault as shown in craniometry, but studies relating it to intelligence have been ambivalent...
.
The Denisova hominin
Denisova hominin
Denisova hominins , or Denisovans, are Paleolithic-Era members of the genus Homo that may belong to a previously unknown species. In , scientists announced the discovery of a finger bone fragment of a juvenile female that lived about 41,000 years ago, found in Denisova Cave in Altai Krai, Russia, a...
, represented by a very robust finger bone found in the Altai mountains
Altai Republic
Altai Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the town of Gorno-Altaysk. The area of the republic is . Population: -Geography:...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is quoted as likely linked to the Dali people. Surprisingly, DNA studies show the bone belong to a woman, with Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
linking it to a very deep split in the human tree, at around 1 million years old. This would make the DNA erectus rather than heidelbergensis or other more recent splits. However, the analysis of the nuclear DNA points to a sister group relationship with the neanderthals.
See also
- List of fossil sites (with link directory)
- List of hominina (hominid) fossils (with images)