Bailey Shara E, Tryon Christian A
Department of Anthropology, Center for the Study of Human Origins, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
Department of Anthropology, University of Connecticut, 354 Mansfield Road, Storrs, CT, 06269 USA; Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 21 Divinity Drive, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 10th St. and Constitution Ave. NW Washington DC 20560, USA.
J Hum Evol. 2023 Mar;176:103323. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103323. Epub 2023 Feb 3.
There are scant human remains associated with Early Upper Paleolithic (EUP) industries. The rock shelter at Ksâr 'Akil, Lebanon, is one of the few circum-Mediterranean archaeological sites with EUP artifacts and associated fossils attributed to Homo sapiens. The skull and post-crania of the juvenile 'Egbert' (Ksâr 'Akil 1) from the EUP levels (conservatively dated from ∼43 to 39 ka) have been lost; the partial edentulous maxilla of 'Ethelruda' (Ksâr 'Akil 2) from the Initial Upper Paleolithic levels has only recently been rediscovered, leaving an isolated deciduous molar (Ksâr 'Akil 3) from Levantine Aurignacian strata. A fourth individual was found adjacent to Ksâr 'Akil 1 in 1938, but never described, and is apparently also lost. New archival research at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography uncovered photographs and radiographs of Ksâr 'Akil 1 and photographs of the fourth individual (which we designate Ksâr 'Akil 4). These new photographs and radiographs allow a comparative dental analysis of both individuals. Radiographs confirm an age of 7-8 years for Ksâr 'Akil 1 and photographs of Ksâr 'Akil 4 suggest a similar, if not slightly younger, age. Compared to other fossil H. sapiens, the teeth of Ksâr 'Akil 1 and Ksâr 'Akil 4 are remarkably modern. The upper deciduous third premolars lack a hypocone and metacone; the upper deciduous fourth premolars of Ksâr 'Akil 1 have reduced hypocones and both individuals have upper fourth premolars and first molars with square (as opposed to skewed) occlusal outlines, resulting from a hypocone that is smaller than, or equal in size to, the metacone. The lower first permanent molars of Ksâr 'Akil 1, and possibly Ksâr 'Akil 4, are four-cusped, which is a rare trait among Paleolithic and recent H. sapiens.
与旧石器时代晚期早期（EUP）文化相关的人类遗骸极少。黎巴嫩的克萨尔阿基尔岩棚是地中海周边为数不多的拥有EUP文物及与智人相关化石的考古遗址之一。来自EUP地层（保守估计年代为距今约4.3万年至3.9万年）的少年“埃格伯特”（克萨尔阿基尔1号）的头骨和颅后骨骼已遗失；来自旧石器时代晚期初始阶段地层的“埃塞尔鲁达”（克萨尔阿基尔2号）的部分无牙上颌骨直到最近才被重新发现，仅留下了一枚来自黎凡特奥瑞纳文化层的孤立乳牙（克萨尔阿基尔3号）。1938年在克萨尔阿基尔1号附近发现了第四个人，但从未对其进行描述，显然也已遗失。皮博迪考古与民族学博物馆的新档案研究发现了克萨尔阿基尔1号的照片和X光片以及第四个人（我们将其命名为克萨尔阿基尔4号）的照片。这些新照片和X光片使得对这两个人进行比较牙齿分析成为可能。X光片证实克萨尔阿基尔1号的年龄为7至8岁，克萨尔阿基尔4号的照片显示其年龄与之相似，即便不是略小一点。与其他智人化石相比，克萨尔阿基尔1号和克萨尔阿基尔4号的牙齿非常现代。上颌乳第三前磨牙没有次尖和原尖；克萨尔阿基尔1号的上颌乳第四前磨牙次尖缩小，两人上颌第四前磨牙和第一磨牙的咬合面轮廓呈方形（而非倾斜），这是由于次尖小于或等于原尖所致。克萨尔阿基尔1号以及可能还有克萨尔阿基尔4号的下颌第一恒磨牙有四个牙尖，这在旧石器时代和现代智人中是一种罕见的特征。
