重大发现！湖北发现迄今欧亚内陆同时代最为完整的直立人头骨化石

9月28日，国家文物局举办“考古中国”重大项目发布会，会上发布了2022年上半年重要考古成果。湖北郧阳学堂梁子遗址考古工作取得重要进展，发现1具保存较为完好的古人类头骨化石，命名为“郧县人3号头骨”。这是迄今欧亚内陆发现的同时代最为完整的直立人头骨化石。

“郧县人3号头骨” 图源：国家文物局

这具头骨化石距今近100万年，是探讨直立人（Homo erectus）演化及其在中国乃至东亚地区起源与发展的重要证据，实证了我国百万年的人类史。

Archaeologists and paleontologists recently discovered a roughly 1-million-year-old human skull fossil in Central China's Hubei province, possibly offering a monumental clue in the study of the evolution of Homo erectus in East Asia.

头骨化石目前已出露额骨（包括眉脊）、眼眶、顶骨、左侧颧骨和颞骨及枕骨左侧，形态清晰，未发生明显变形。

The skull has not been fully excavated from the ground yet, but the part that has been exposed so far, including the frontal bone, eye sockets and left cheekbone and temporal bone, indicate that the skull's structure is intact.

学堂梁子遗址位于湖北省十堰市郧阳区，是一处旧石器时代早期的大型旷野遗址。1989年、1990年，该遗址先后出土2具古人类头骨化石，年代距今80万年至110万年左右，属于直立人，被学术界命名为“郧县人1号头骨”、“郧县人2号头骨”。然而，这两具头骨化石在出土时均严重变形。

The Xuetangliangzi site is famous for a milestone discovery of two hominid crania, in 1989 and 1990. The two fossils, dating from 800,000 to 1.1 million years ago, were named by scientists the No 1 and No 2 skulls of Yunxian Man (Yunyang district was then known as Yunxian county). However, when unearthed, the two fossils were found to be severely deformed.

学堂梁子遗址考古发掘现场 图源：国家文物局

因此，形态完好的“郧县人3号头骨”意义重大，将推动开展新一轮对学堂梁子遗址的研究。

高星透露，“郧县人3号头骨”发现于距地表深约0.62米的文化层，距此前2具头骨化石出土地点约35米。

According to Gao, the No 3 skull was buried about 62 centimeters below the current ground surface and was about 35 meters away from the previous two.

他表示：“‘郧县人3号头骨’与前2具化石埋藏环境、伴生动物群与石制品技术特征均相似，初步判断应属同一时代。”

"Their buried environments are similar, and so are the varieties of other unearthed animal bones and lithic (stone) tools," he said. "Preliminary studies showed that the No 3 skull should belong to the same period of time as the No 1 and No 2."

高星表示，专家工作组将会运用多种科技手段，其中包括地磁、光学以及宇宙核素等多种测年手段来证明猜想，至少需要半年的时间。

新技术不仅可以用于测年过程，同样也适用于整个学堂梁子的历程研究。例如，遗址实景三维数字模型适用于重现郧县人的生活环境。

New technologies can benefit not only the dating process but also other research involving the site. For example, 3D virtual imaging is used to reconstruct the environment in which Yunxian Man lived.

学堂梁子遗址发现的动物化石 图源：国家文物局

高星说：“在以前，考古发掘工作是不可逆的。但如今有了新技术手段，我们能够运用数字技术使今后的考古发掘有可回转的余地，能够更加可持续。”

郧县人处于直立人演化历程的关键节点上。“目前的发现表明，东亚地区的人类演化是连续的。尽管直立人与早期智人（Homo sapiens）的发展关系尚不明确，但这是研究探讨人类东亚起源的关键。毫无疑问，3号头骨的发掘将提供极为重要的证据。”高星说。

"Our current findings have shown that human evolution in East Asia was continuous," Gao said. "The links between Homo erectus and later Homo sapiens are still unclear, but this issue is a key to decoding the origins of modern human beings in East Asia. Indisputably, the skull fossil can provide crucial evidence."

编辑：朱迪齐

实习生：王潇雨

来源：新华社 中国日报