Fitzsimmons Kathryn E, Iovita Radu, Sprafke Tobias, Glantz Michelle, Talamo Sahra, Horton Katharine, Beeton Tyler, Alipova Saya, Bekseitov Galymzhan, Ospanov Yerbolat, Deom Jean-Marc, Sala Renato, Taimagambetov Zhaken
Research Group for Terrestrial Palaeoclimates, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, 55128 Mainz, Germany; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany.
MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum Leibniz Research Institute for Archaeology, Schloss Monrepos, D-56567 Neuwied, Germany; Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2017 Dec;113:107-126. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.07.006. Epub 2017 Sep 6.
Central Asia has delivered significant paleoanthropological discoveries in the past few years. New genetic data indicate that at least two archaic human species met and interbred with anatomically modern humans as they arrived into northern Central Asia. However, data are limited: known archaeological sites with lithic assemblages generally lack human fossils, and consequently identifying the archaeological signatures of different human groups, and the timing of their occupation, remains elusive. Reliable chronologic data from sites in the region, crucial to our understanding of the timing and duration of interactions between different human species, are rare. Here we present chronologies for two open air Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (UP) sequences from the Tien Shan piedmont in southeast Kazakhstan, Maibulak and Valikhanova, which bridge southern and northern Central Asia. The chronologies, based on both quartz optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and polymineral post-infrared infrared luminescence (pIR-IRSL) protocols, demonstrate that technological developments at the two sites differ substantially over the ∼47-19 ka time span. Some of the innovations typically associated with the earliest UP in the Altai or other parts of northeast Asia are also present in the Tien Shan piedmont. We caution against making assumptions about the directionality of spread of these technologies until a larger, better defined database of transitional sites in the region is available. Connections between the timing of occupation of regions, living area setting and paleoenvironmental conditions, while providing hypotheses worth exploring, remain inconclusive. We cautiously suggest a trend towards increasing occupation of open air sites across the Central Asian piedmont after ∼40 ka, corresponding to more humid climatic conditions which nevertheless included pulses of dust deposition. Human occupation persisted into the Last Glacial Maximum, despite cooler, and possibly drier, conditions. Our results thus provide additional data to substantiate arguments for occupation of Central Asia.
在过去几年里，中亚地区有重大的古人类学发现。新的基因数据表明，至少有两种古人类物种在解剖学意义上的现代人类抵达中亚北部时相遇并杂交。然而，相关数据有限：已知有石器组合的考古遗址通常缺少人类化石，因此，确定不同人类群体的考古特征及其居住时间仍然困难重重。该地区遗址可靠的年代数据十分罕见，而这些数据对于我们理解不同人类物种之间相互作用的时间和持续时间至关重要。在此，我们给出了哈萨克斯坦东南部天山山麓迈布拉克和瓦利哈诺娃两个露天中石器时代至旧石器时代晚期（UP）序列的年代，这两个序列连接了中亚南部和北部。这些年代基于石英光释光（OSL）和多矿物后红外红外释光（pIR-IRSL）协议，表明在约4.7万至1.9万年的时间跨度内，这两个遗址的技术发展存在显著差异。一些通常与阿尔泰山脉或东北亚其他地区最早的旧石器时代晚期相关的创新也出现在天山山麓。在该地区有更大、定义更明确的过渡性遗址数据库之前，我们提醒不要对这些技术传播的方向性进行假设。各地区居住时间、居住区域环境和古环境条件之间的联系，虽提供了值得探索的假设，但仍无定论。我们谨慎地提出，在约4万年后，中亚山麓露天遗址的居住有增加的趋势，这与更湿润的气候条件相对应，不过其中也包括沙尘沉积脉冲。尽管气候更寒冷，可能也更干燥，但人类居住一直持续到末次盛冰期。因此，我们的研究结果提供了更多数据，以支持有关人类在中亚居住的观点。
