Archaeological significant results! Third fossilized ancient human skull found at Utopian site

Hubei Daily (reporter Haibing, correspondent Zhang Jun) September 28, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage "Archaeology China" major project important progress work will be released, following the discovery of two ancient human skull fossils about 1 million years ago in 1989, 1990 in Hubei Xue Tang Liangzi site, once again found an ancient human skull The fossil, named "Utopian" No. 3 skull, was found only 30 meters from the site where the first two fossil skulls were unearthed. The degree of preservation is extremely rare, experts say this is the most complete ancient human skull fossil of the same time inland Eurasia seen so far.

Fossil skull of "Utopian" No.3

Xuedangliangzi site is located in Shiyan City, Hubei Province, Utopia District (formerly Utopia County), also known as the Utopia Man site, is a large Paleolithic site, the main body of the fourth terrace on the north bank of the Han River, preserving more than 1 million years of stratigraphic accumulation of different periods. Approved by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology has conducted systematic archaeological excavations of the site since 2021, in conjunction with the Institute of Vertebrate Zoology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wuhan University.

The Xuedangliangzi site is located on the northern bank of the Han River

The excavation site built a large "archaeological cabin"

On September 28, Lu Chengqiu, deputy researcher of Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, who is in charge of the excavation project, introduced to Hubei Daily Media that the excavation area is 203 square meters, with 203 1X1 meter probes laid out, and the team carried out fine excavation with 2 centimeters as an operational layer. A fully functional "archaeological cabin" was set up on site in conjunction with the excavation. Recently, the archaeological work has made significant progress. The team discovered the fossil skull No. 3 buried in the sandy stratum with certain calcareous cementation, accompanied by a large number of animal fossils and stone products. At present, the fossil skull No. 3 has revealed the frontal bone (including the brow ridge), the orbit, the parietal bone, the left zygomatic bone and the left side of the temporal bone and the occipital bone.

The fossil skull of "Utopian" No.2

"Utopian" No. 1 fossil skull (Hubei Daily full media reporter Haibing photo)

A number of authoritative experts in the field of domestic paleoanthropological research field view and held a demonstration meeting to discuss that the No. 3 skull fossil exposed part is well preserved, clear morphology, and confirmed the attributes of ancient humans. The first two fossil skulls have been deformed due to the extrusion of the stratigraphic deposits, but the fossil skull No. 3 is basically normal in form and can provide richer trait information than the first two.
　　
Lu Chengqiu said that the No. 3 skull fossil and the first two skull fossil burial environment, companion fauna and stone products technical characteristics are similar, the preliminary judgment of the three skull fossils should belong to the same era, the specific need for scientific and technological dating to further confirm.

Project leader Lu Chengqiu at the archaeological excavation site

Experts believe that the fossil skull of "Utopian Man" No. 3 is the most complete ancient human skull of the same generation seen in the Eurasian interior so far, preserving the important and scarce anatomical features of this stage of human. The fossil is at a critical point in the evolutionary history of ancient humans, providing information and important bases for exploring the evolutionary pattern of ancient humans in East Asia, the origin of Homo erectus in East Asia, and other important issues, and proving the million years of human history in China.
　　
(Except for the byline, pictures are provided by Hubei Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology)
　　
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State Administration of Cultural Relics: Fossil skulls a million years old prove China's million years of human history

This morning (28), the State Administration of Cultural Heritage held "Archaeology China" major project conference, informed the four new archaeological discoveries from Hubei, Yunnan, Wenzhou, Kaifeng, at the same time, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage also informed the first to third quarter of 2022 archaeological work progress.

Among the latest major discoveries of archaeological projects in China, a new fossilized ancient human skull was found at the Xuedangliangzi site in Shiyan, Hubei Province - "Utopian" skull No. 3.

△The middle of the picture is the half-excavated fossil skull

According to the introduction, the fossil was first revealed on May 18, 2022, and the skull is well preserved, with a small amount of cement on the surface, full cranial shape and obvious elevation of the eyebrow arch, which is the most complete Homo erectus skull fossil of the same era found in the Eurasian interior so far. The newly discovered "Utopian" No. 3 fossil skull, about 1 million years ago, in the middle and key link of the evolution of ancient humans in Eurasia for nearly 2 million years, is an important fossil evidence to explore the emergence and development of humans in East Asia, confirming the million years of human history in China.
　　
At present, the lower part of the fossil skull is still in the native soil layer, and the right side is partially embedded in the south wall. A plan for extraction and restoration will be developed subsequently, and a comprehensive multidisciplinary cross-sectional study of the site will be carried out simultaneously.
　　
Among the latest new discoveries of major projects in archaeology in China, the discovery of Han Dynasty architectural remains at the site of Heposho in Kunming, Yunnan Province, and the excavation of a large number of seal clay and brief documents provide clues to the search for the county government of Yizhou County established in the Western Han Dynasty, which is an important empirical evidence of the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country. The site of Kaifeng State Bridge and Bianhe River in Henan is a microcosm of the historical evolution of Kaifeng city from the Tang and Song Dynasties to the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and has outstanding universal value for studying the structure and layout of Tokyo City in the Northern Song Dynasty and the history and culture of the Grand Canal, and is of great practical significance for preserving and inheriting the Yellow River culture and promoting the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt. Zhejiang Wenzhou ancient port site found the ancient city water, land gate building remains and docks, stacks, dry bar buildings, wells and other remains, large scale, complete system, a vivid reproduction of the prosperous scene of the Song and Yuan dynasties Wenzhou port, is a historical witness to the ancient Chinese Maritime Silk Road.
　　
In addition, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage introduced, from the first to the third quarter of 2022, has coordinated the "Archaeological China" 18 major projects under study, the systematic implementation of 254 active archaeological excavation projects, the fifth phase of the study of the origin of Chinese civilization (2020-2024) to promote in-depth. The fifth phase (2020-2024) of the research on the origin of Chinese civilization will be carried out in depth to prove the historical development of Chinese civilization.
　　
(General CCTV reporter Tian Yunhua Zhang Lirei Yan Hong)