Evolutionary trends of stature in Pleistocene China / 解剖学报

Objective To study the evolutionary trends in the stature of Pleistocene hominins from China. Methods We took the indirect method of stature estimation from fragments of long bones; maximum length of the long bones was directly estimated from measurements of its fragments, and thereafter the stature was reconstructed from the estimated maximum length. Results The result showed that the stature variation was 155.4-169.2 cm for H. erectus (n = 4) and 155.2-171.7 cm for early modem humans (n = 12) , and only 166. 1 cm for one female in archaic Homo sapiens. The stature of Liujiang and Lijiang hominins located in the southeast was lower than other early modern humans from North China. Conclusion The stature variation is similarly from H. erectus to early modern humans, while the average stature seems to have increased continuously. We find that the geographical variation observed in modern humans has appeared in early modern humans. In addition, there is no significant difference between early modern humans and Neolithic populations.

Analysis of physique types and their causes of modern Chinese population by head-to-face measurements / 解剖学报

Objective: To review the physical characteristics in modern Chinese populations, and to exploring the relationships between physical traits and the geo-environmental factors. Methods: This paper took the principal component and cluster analysis of the craniofacial physical characters of 134 populations in China (65 Han nationalities, 59 minority nationalities and 10 unidentified populations) with 15 measurements. We also focused the linear relationship between the craniofacial measurements and 8 geo-environmental factors. Results: The physical characteristics of Modern Chinese was divided into the northern and southern groups: North Han was close to north minority nationalities; Han nationalities were close to each other in southern region, as well as the minority nationalities. In addition, the physiognomic ear length and physiognomic ear breadth decreased when the annual mean temperature increases, which was not consistent with Allen's rule. Conclusion: The differentiation of northern and southern Chinese population is a result of the physical adaptation which may be caused by the selective pressures under different regional environments. And the north-south demarcation zone (Qinling mountain - Huaihe river) can be considered as the most suitable boundary between the southern and northern Chinese.