Chinese scholars discovered and restored the earliest human fossils with modern facial features in East

Asia

Recently, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology researcher and Wuxiu Jie Wu-
foreign cooperative team led by researchers in the international academic journal "Journal of human
evolution" ( Journal of Human Evolution ) , published online entitled " Morphological and Evolutionary
significance of the Description 300 ka hominin facial bones from Hualongdong, China " research paper,
reported the latest research results on ancient human facial bones in Hualongdong . The study found
that 30 mosaicism million years ago, ancient Chinese cave presents a human face (mosaic)
morphological characteristics. Except for some of the upper orbital and zygomatic features similar to
those of mid-Pleistocene Homo erectus and ancient humans such as Zhoukoudian, Nanjing, Dali,
Jinniushan, most facial features are located in the range of early modern humans and modern humans.
The research team also carried out a human skull with China Cave outlook recovery, showing the 30
Chinese ancient human face Cave million years ago. This study further demonstrates the diversity of East
Asia in the late Pleistocene human evolution, mankind made the transition from East Asia to the
evolution of the modern form of the ancient forms 30 million years ago has occurred earlier than in the
past recognized the 8-10 years.

Since 2013, the research team has continuously investigated and excavated the Hualong Cave site in
Dongzhi County, Anhui Province, and discovered more than 30 ancient human fossils, including a
relatively complete skull fossil. In addition, hundreds of stone tools, a large number of mammalian
fossils, and traces of cuts and slashes on the surface of animal bones were also found to reflect the
survival behavior of ancient humans. Through uranium dating, fauna composition analysis and
stratigraphic comparison, the age of ancient human fossils is determined to be between 331,000 and
275,000 years ago. This is the second week after opening shop, human fossils found in China's most
abundant quantity, containing the mid-Pleistocene human fossil sites evidence of stone tools and other
human activities.

Figure 1. Hualong Cave No. 6 face bone fossil

　　The human fossils found in Hualong Cave include a complete skull numbered Hualong Cave No. 6
(HLD 6) , which contains complete facial bones. The study used traditional morphological description,
high-resolution CT , multivariate statistical methods such as Hua Cave 6 Hao facial bones ( Figure 1 )
carried out a detailed morphological observation and measurement, and the world of humans and
modern humans Pleistocene specimens Through comparative analysis, a series of new discoveries and
understandings have been made.
1. 30 million years ago, ancient Chinese cave presents modern human facial features

　　Studies have shown that Hualongdong No. 6 skull has some facial features of mid-Pleistocene
Homo erectus in East Asia, including supraorbital occiput, supraorbital tubercle, maxillary groove in the
lower orbit , zygomatic tubercle , maxillary zygomatic process, and lack of canine fossa. Nevertheless,
the performance of these characteristics is obviously weaker than that of Homo erectus such as
Zhoukoudian. Some facial features commonly found in Homo erectus and ancient humans in the mid-
Pleistocene, such as broad nasal bones, low upper face, obvious protruding jaws, canine yoke, zygomatic
notch, etc. are weak or even absent in Hualong Cave 6 .

Figure 2. Some ancient human fossils in China during the mid-Pleistocene. From left to right:
Hualongdong No. 6 , Zhoukoudian No. 12 , Hexian, Dali

FIG 3. Chinese Cave 6 on the left side of the maxilla and zygomatic No.

　　In contrast, most of the facial features of Hualongdong No. 6 are in the range of early modern
humans and modern humans. Chinese Cave 6 No. supraorbital shallow groove, recess brow region,
similar to the deep and lacrimal fossa and early modern performance modern humans; nasal wherein
almost all Chinese Cave 6 are located in modern number range of variation, comprising nearly vertical
Trend pyriform aperture side edges of the pyriform aperture developed edge of anterior nasal spine,
lateral spine, and nasal fossa; the face below the eyes in China Cave 6 substantially No. coronal plane
parallel to the vertical direction, so that the face is very Flat, similar to modern humans in East Asia, but
obviously different from the mid-Pleistocene Homo erectus leaning forward; the zygomatic arch root of
Hualong Cave 6 is at the level of the first molar, similar to most early modern humans and modern
humans. It is different from Homo erectus and ancient humans in the mid-Pleistocene; the incisor hole
opening in the hard palate is very far forward ( 4 mm ) in Hualong Cave No. 6 . The front incisor hole is a
typical feature of early modern people and modern people ( 4-8mm ), while the incisor hole in erect
people such as Zhoukoudian is very rearward ( 12-17 mm ). In addition, the maxillary alveolar arch of
Hualong No. 6 presents a generational short and wide, parabolic shape, which is obviously different
from the long and narrow oval shape of the erect human arch.

Figure 4. Hualong Cave No. 6 and the position of the perforation in the hard palate of some ancient
human fossils
(A) Hualong Cave No. 6 ; (B) African Homo erectus (KNM-WT 15000); (C) Zhoukoudian Homo erectus ;
(D) Moroccan early modern people in the late Middle Pleistocene (Jebel Irhoud 1); (E) Jinniu Mountain ;
(F) Peak Cave 102.

　　The linear measurement, angle and index data of Hualongdong No. 6 face also show mosaic
characteristics, but most of them are in the range of modern people's variation. The total facial angle
reflecting the degree of facial jaw protrusion in Hualong Cave is 89.1 ° , which is close to the mid-
Pleistocene ancient humans, indicating that the face of Hualong Cave No. 6 has a certain degree of jaw
protrusion. But other facial measurement features are in the range of early modern people and modern
people's variation. The nasal zygomatic angle, which reflects the flatness of the face , is 143.3 ° at
Hualong Cave No. 6 , indicating that Hualong Cave No. 6 has a very flat upper face. Hualong Cave No. 6
retroorbital constriction index, orbital index, piriform foramen index, upper high index, dental arch
index, etc. are also close to modern people. The results of multivariate statistical analysis compared with
the measurement data of the skull and face of ancient Pleistocene humans and modern humans around
the world show that Hualongdong No. 6 has the closest relationship with early modern humans and
modern humans in the late Pleistocene.

Figure 5. Multivariate statistical analysis of the facial measurement data of Hualongdong No. 6 and the
world-wide Pleistocene ancient and modern humans

2. Facial restoration

　　As Hualong Cave 6 preserves relatively complete facial bones, it can provide accurate facial
morphology and anatomy information. The research team used manual methods and CT scanning
methods to restore the physical and virtual skulls of Hualong Cave No. 6 respectively. Chinese study
using the obtained Cave . 6 No. skull and facial morphology characteristic data, China Cave . 6 No. skull
appearance were restored sculpture method. China Cave obtained 6 Hao restored as head and face
( Figure 6 ) clear, visual representation of the 30 appearance features of life in China's ancient human
cave million years ago, show that this is a young and modern face similar individuals.

Figure 6. The face restoration of the skull of Hualong Cave No. 6

A : Hualong Cave No. 6 fossil; B : virtual reconstructed skull; C : physical reconstructed skull; D :
sculptured skull; E : reconstructed image
3 . In the late Pleistocene evolution of Chinese ancient form of human diversity

　　In the past 10 years, the discovery of paleohuman fossils in Penghu, Xuchang, Hualongdong, Xiahe,
Harbin, etc. and related studies have shown that the evolution of ancient humans in China in the late
Middle Pleistocene has complex fossil morphological diversity. These morphological diversity are
manifested as mixed or mosaic patterns in which primitive, derived, and some special characteristics
coexist. Although previous studies have noticed that some human fossils from the late Middle
Pleistocene in China show some characteristics similar to modern humans, the number of these
characteristics is very small, especially the lack of detailed data on facial morphological variation.
Hualong Cave No. 6 is the first ancient human fossil discovered so far that presents such a rich number
of modern human facial features. In China, and even throughout East Asia, the same discovery has not
been found in the human fossil record of the late Middle Pleistocene. In addition, the comparative
analysis of this study found that Dali, Jinniushan, Maba, Chaoxian, Changyang and other Chinese human
fossils in the late Middle Pleistocene also showed different facial morphological characteristics.
Therefore, the findings of this study provide new evidence for the morphological diversity of human
evolution in the late Middle Pleistocene.

4 . Human evolution in East Asia ancient form of the transition to a modern and modern forms and
shapes

　　The discovery and research of ancient human fossils such as Huanglong Cave, Homo sapiens Cave,
Fuyan Cave, etc. has advanced the appearance of modern humans on the East Asian continent to 80 to
120,000 years ago. Recent studies have found some derived features similar to modern humans in the
late Middle Pleistocene human fossils such as Dadong and Dali, Panxian. However, most of the
characteristics of these fossils are still located in the early and mid-Pleistocene Homo erectus or ancient
human variation range. Therefore, the paleoanthropologists are still unclear about the time when the
ancient human form changed to the modern form in East Asia, or there is a lack of consensus.

　　This study shows that the number of modern human characteristics and the degree of expression
of the Hualong Cave No. 6 skull exceed all known human fossils of the late Middle Pleistocene in China.
This finding suggests that ancient form of human evolution in East Asia to modern forms of transition
time to be earlier than previously thought, possibly 30 has occurred million years ago than previously
thought earlier age 8-10 years . The population represented by Hualong Cave No. 6 is not only the
earliest member of East Asia to transition from ancient to modern, but the initial transition to modern is
likely to occur in a relatively isolated local area, and at this time in China Other areas are still occupied by
older members of humanity.
Researcher Liu Wu, who is in charge of this research, pointed out that, based on the chronological data
of the Hualong Cave No. 6 skull 300,000 years ago, the large number of modern human features
presented on the skull, and the appearance of modern humans revealed by facial restoration, this skull
represents East Asia. The region's earliest modern human facial bone shape and appearance. The skull
of Hualong Cave No. 6 shows modern human characteristics, suggesting that the population that lived in
Hualong Cave 300,000 years ago represents the earliest pre-modern humans in East Asia . The recent
discovery and research of ancient human fossils in Africa has advanced the appearance of modern
humans to 315,000 years ago. However, genetic studies have shown that the separation of ancient
human and modern human lineages occurred between 55-765 million years ago, suggesting that there
may be members of the modern human lineage that lived earlier, much earlier than the current human
fossil evidence. In the future, more ancient human fossil discoveries and studies will further reveal the
emergence of modern humans on the East Asian continent and clarify disputes related to the origin of
modern humans.

The research was completed by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an Jiaotong University, and the University of
Southern California. Researcher Wu Xiujie from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and
Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is the first author of the paper. Researcher Liu Wu
from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of
Sciences and Professor Kristian Carlson from the University of Southern California are the co-
corresponding authors. Other authors include the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researcher Pei
Shuwen, researcher of the same number, researcher Xing Song, Professor Cai Yanjun of Xi'an Jiaotong
University, and Dr. Tea Jashashvili of University of Southern California . The study was the CAS strategic
pilot projects B , National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chinese Academy of Ancient spine of the
field to explore funding support of support.

Link to the paper: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0047248421001044