智人洞 | |
  location in China | |
| Location | Guangxi, China |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 22°17′13.6″N107°30′45.1″E / 22.287111°N 107.512528°E /22.287111; 107.512528 |
| History | |
| Periods | earlyLate Pleistocene |
Zhiren Cave (Chinese:智人洞) is akarstic cave in the Mulan Mountains that overlooks the Hejiang River inChongzuo,Guangxi, China.[1] Zhiren Cave is an earlyLate Pleistocene site that has yielded the fossil remains of possiblyanatomically modern humans with some mixedarchaic human features.[1][2]
The fossil remains were discovered by Chinese paleontologists in 2007.[1] The fossils were covered by a continuous layer offlowstone, a layer that was initially dated to around 113,000 to 100,000BP.[1] A more thorough re-dating was later undertaken, and gives an estimated date of around 116,000 to 106,000 BP.[3]
Some of the large mammal remains discovered at Zhiren Cave include those fromPongo pygmaeus,Elephas kiangnanensis,Elephas maximus,Megatapirus augustus,Rhinoceros sinensis,Megalovis guangxiensis,Cervus unicolor,Ursus thibetanus,Arctonyx collaris andPanthera pardus.[1] Around 25% of the large mammal species discovered at the site are now extinct.[4]
Three pieces of hominin remains were identified: two upper molars (Zhiren 1 andZhiren 2) and an anteriormandible (Zhiren 3).[1] The fossils are believed to have belonged to at least two different individuals, asZhiren 1 andZhiren 3 are unlikely to have come from the same individual.[1]
When compared to Late Pleistocene fossils from western Eurasia,Zhiren 1 andZhiren 2 are smaller and would be classified as modern; however, the comparative context is lacking in East Asian Late Pleistocene fossils.[4][5] Zhiren 2 shows evidence for dental winging in its lower incisors, a feature that has only been found inHomo sapiens.[6]
Zhiren 3 contains a mix of archaic and modern human features.[1] The most significant aspect ofZhiren 3 is that it has a distinctively modern human chin.[1] Coupled with the dating,Zhiren 3 could possibly represent the earliest modern human fossil in East Asia.[1] However, many were skeptical of this conclusion, since this would significantly push back the general consensus on the dating ofhuman migration out of Africa.[4][5]Peter Bellwood also cites the lack of archaeological finds (such asNeanderthal stone tools or tooth pendants)[7] associated with the fossils.[8]