BCAS
Vol.22 No.4 2008
Mysterious cave stirring hopes
for new clues to man’s early
evolution
R
enzi Cave, the mysterious relic of a population
of hominids located in Fanchang County, Anhui
Province in eastern China, has gained much
spotlight because of its fascinating age, 2 million years.
This age suggests that this unknown population might
have been the earliest arrival of human beings from Africa,
pushing it to the forefront of a big controversy concerning
early hominid evolution. In 2008, the 10th anniversary of
its discovery, the cave refuels the hopes for unraveling this
puzzle.
“So far, the origin and evolution of humans are still a
major puzzle for scientists,” remarks Prof. JIN Changzhu
from the CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology (IVPP), who is one of the discoverers of
the Cave. “If further discoveries could be made here, this
site will provide new perspectives for the exploration and
analysis of the origins of Homo erectus in East Asia, and
for examining and confirming the extant evolution models
including the out-of-Africa model,” he added.
The over 100 artifacts unearthed
from this cave suggest that it might
have been a residence of the earliest
human population found in China,
who preceded the “Peking Man”
and “Yuanmou Man.” The pity is,
however, no human fossil has been
found since the cave’s discovery 10
years ago. Nevertheless, no one could
deny that exciting findings might emerge
anytime from the 15-meter-thick deposits
left from previous exploration. If, only
if, any human fossil could be found here,
scientists would be able to reconstruct the
physical appearance of this hominid species and thereby
identify its taxonomic status—all this would provide
precious clues about the origins of Homo erectus, the
ancestor of Homo sapiens—the modern humans.
To mark the 10th anniversary for the Cave’s discovery
and inspire later explorations concerning early evolution
and migration of human beings, a number of prestigious
paleoanthropologists gathered together in July 2008 in
Fanchang to share the results of their latest work, focusing
on the early migrations of primitive humans and their role
in the wilds.
Early migrations of humans—What
happened in Fanchang millions of
years ago?
At the symposium, the implications of the early
pliopithecid populations in China and East Asia got a lot
of attention. Where did they come from?
Africa?
Prof. Terry Harrison from
the Center for the Study of
Human Origins, Department
o f A n t h r o p o l o g y, N e w
York University gave a talk
at the symposium based on his
chronology and taxonomy analyses of
the fossil pliopithecoid teeth discovered
in China, plus a comparative analysis with
the related discoveries in Europe.
The traces on the stone tool, left from its processing
process, suggest the tool-making industry two million years
ago.
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Latest findings of fossil evidence show that the
pliopithecid in Eurasia first appeared in China around 17 to
18 million years ago. Among them, the earliest was found
in Fanchang County in Anhui Province. The pliopithecid
later populated Europe and disappeared around nine million
years ago. At the time, in Yunnan Province in southwest
China, there lived populations of the latest pliopithecid,
until about 7 million years ago.
So far the scientists have unearthed over 100
fossil teeth of the pliopithecid in Fanchang County.
After morphological comparison and taxonomical
studies, Harrison conjectures that given the
chronicles of European pliopithecid activities, the
populations there could have originated and moved
from China; meanwhile part of the populations
stayed in China and left the latest record of their
activities.
However, could the pliopithecid
in China be competent for such a long
trek? Millions of years ago?
Prof. Ronald Clarke from the
University of the Witwatersrand in
South Africa is well known for his finding
of the full fossil skeleton of an Australopithecus
individual dating between 3.22 and 3.58 million years
old, even slightly older than the legendary “Lucy.” His
ensuing research in the 1990s on the locomotion of
Australopithecus subverted previous understandings and
suggested that primitive humans might have gained the
ability to walk upright earlier than thought.
Judged from the structure of the well-preserved
Australopithecus fossil skeleton, Clarke concluded that
this creature had an upright figuration. Combining studies
on the skeletons of Australopithecus, Homo habilis living
about 2.5 million years ago and various hominid species
living from 2 to 1 million years ago, he further concluded
that the ancestors of humans got the upright figuration
earlier than believed before, even in their arboreal eras.
It seemed that the southern ape, which is believed to be
the immediate ancestor of Homo, led an arboreal life
coupled with terrestrial habits. In other words, this species
had hardly got off the trees when it became a competent
pedestrian. The only pity was, they could only walk on
their heels rather than tiptoes: Homos did not gain the
FOCUS
ability to run on tiptoes until 2 million years ago.
Clarke’s results just echoed what Prof. WU Xinzhi, a
CAS Member and a researcher with IVPP, reported at the
anniversary symposium. Quoting the hypothesis by another
Western scholar, he stated that it might be possible that the
human ancestors stepped out of Africa as early as 3 million
years ago, when Australopithecus flourished in Africa.
This exodus was possible because at the time there was
no unconquerable barrier between Africa and Asia. In
his report, Wu proposed an innovative hypothesis:
could it be possible that a branch of anthropoids
emigrated from Africa to what nowadays is
China in Asia, and evolved into homos there
before they moved back to Africa again? He
suggested that the hominids excavated in
Africa dating to six to seven million years ago
might not necessarily have originated locally;
their appearance might have been a result of the
return of hominids from China. Wu reminded
the participants, however, of the point that
this was only one of conjectures that need to
be tested by fossil evidence. He encouraged the
participants to work hard to search new fossils.
A piece of bone tool unearthed from the Renzi Cave.
The role of primitive humans
—hunters or preys?
Despite the fact that no human fossil has been
found so far from the Renzi Cave, a total of over 5,000
mammalian fossils have been excavated, falling into 75
species. Judging from the stone and bone tools unearthed
here, paleoanthropologists believe that one or more human
populations had been living here. The finding of tools here
made the cave the oldest relic of human culture in China,
and notably, its age is even comparable to the earliest tools
found in Africa.
According to Prof. GAO Xing from IVPP, it is likely
to unearth human fossil specimens in the Cave, but the
possibility is uncertain. “To some extent it is a matter of
luck,” explains Gao: “In immemorial time, human beings
were not dominant in number, compared to animals. On
the other hand, the possibility that a human body could be
fossilized and well preserved is very remote, as only under
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Vol.22 No.4 2008
very special conditions can this occur. Not to mention
Peking Man were clearly targeted to certain functions. This
the slim chances of it to be found by an archaeology
early human population made their tools in the No. 1 Cave
expedition.” So far, there are nearly 2,000 sites of early
of Zhoukoudian Relic, therefore this cave, at the very least,
human relics dating at least 10,000 years old in China,
must have been the temporary campground or residence for
but only in less than one tenth of which human fossil
them. It might even have been a permanent residence of the
specimens were found. More often, what the scientists find
Peking Man, if the possibility could be ruled out that the
are stone tools and other vessels used by our ancestors,
Peking Man and other animals might have taken this cave
rather than human fossils themselves.
alternately.
Without human fossil as direct evidence, how could
Trace studies also offer clues to the diet of early
the paleoanthropologists know what our ancestors looked
human beings, telling whether early humans actively
like? How did they manage to survive in the wild and how
preyed on animals or just passively accepted dead animals
did they interact with other creatures in the nature?
to allay their hunger. Supported by funds from CAS, Dr.
One of the fundamental issues is: were they hunters or
Christopher Norton, an American scholar and a former
preys?
post-doc of IVPP, has performed a series of interesting
Decades ago, some scholars brought forward the idea
experiments to approach the truth. He laid two groups of
that the “Peking Man” used to live at Zhoukoudian in
animal bones, one treated (gnawed) by human beings, the
suburban Beijing might not be the hunter, but the prey to
other intact, on the prairie in Africa, to attract predators
other animals, which occupied the cave as their lair. Was it
like hyenas. The predators would leave different traces on
true?
the two groups of bones. After comparing them with those
A methodology newly introduced to paleoanthropology
left on the fossil horse skeletons unearthed from Xujiayao,
research might offer a glimpse of the truth millions of
a relic of H. sapiens in China, he found that most of the
years ago. This methodology, which mainly analyzes
animals in the cave were captured and eaten by early
the traces on the stone tools and fossilized bones to
humans.
Meanwhile, our ancestors also ate dead
reveal what happened to the relics
animals,
but this only occurred at much lower a
in the immemorial time, is being
frequency. Therefore, the early H.
widely accepted by the
sapiens who lived at Xujiayao
paleoanthropology community.
could be defined as hunters.
New developments of this
Wi t h i n c r e a s e d f o s s i l
methodology in China have initially
evidence, improved methodology and
revealed the real role of early
renewed perspectives for research, the
humans in the wild. Prof. Gao
landscapes of the life and immigration
and his colleagues from IVPP
of primitive humans will become
and abroad studied the stone tools
c l e a r e r a n d c l e a r e r. To d a t e ,
and fossilized animal bones and
however, the origins of humankind
discovered that early humans were
and immigrations of early homo
Stone tools from the Renzi Cave.
not the miserable prey to beasts.
species remain controversial,
Based on his analyses of traces left on 49 stone
leaving many issues concerning their mode of behavior and
artifacts of 10 categories from Zhoukoudian, Dr. SHEN
lifestyle under-studied. Prof. Wu concluded at the end of
Chen, an archaeologist from Canadian Royal Ontario
his report: “It will take generations of scholars’ efforts to
Museum, concluded that the stone tools made by the
solve these puzzles.”
n
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