Cultural adaptations to the Late Pleistocene: Regional variability of human behavior in southern Shanxi Province, central-northern China

Whole-plant corn silage is a predominant forage for livestock that is processed in Heilongjiang province (Daqing city and Longjiang county), Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Helin county and Tumet Left Banner) and Shanxi province (Taigu and Shanyin counties) of North China; it was sampled at 0, 5, 14, 45 and 90 days after ensiling. Bacterial community and fermentation quality were analysed. During fermentation, the pH was reduced to below 4.0, lactic acid increased to above 73 g/kg DM (p < 0.05) and Lactobacillus dominated the bacterial community and had a reducing abundance after 14 days. In the final silages, butyric acid was not detected, and the contents of acetic acid and ammonia nitrogen were below 35 g/kg DM and 100 g/kg total nitrogen, respectively. Compared with silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia, silages from Shanxi contained less Lactobacillus and more Leuconostoc (p < 0.05), and had a separating bacterial community from 14 to 90 days. Lactobacillus was negatively correlated with pH in all the silages (p < 0.05), and positively correlated with lactic and acetic acid in silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia (p < 0.05). The results show that the final silages had satisfactory fermentation quality. During the ensilage process, silages from Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia had similar bacterial-succession patterns; the activity of Lactobacillus formed and maintained good fermentation quality in whole-plant corn silage.

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First report of Eimeria and Entamoeba infection in alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in Shanxi Province, northern China

Parasitology Research ◽

10.1007/s00436-021-07157-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Wen-Wei Gao ◽

Ye-Ting Ma ◽

Yuan-Yuan Ma ◽

Run-Li Li ◽

Jin Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northern China ◽

Shanxi Province ◽

First Report ◽

Vicugna Pacos

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Reconstructing Late Pleistocene paleoclimate at the scale of human behavior: an example from the Neandertal occupation of La Ferrassie (France)

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-80777-1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sarah Pederzani ◽

Vera Aldeias ◽

Harold L. Dibble ◽

Paul Goldberg ◽

Jean-Jacques Hublin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Behavior ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Tooth Enamel ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Climatic Data ◽

Human Scale ◽

Winter Temperatures ◽

Archaeological Materials ◽

Climatic Records

AbstractExploring the role of changing climates in human evolution is currently impeded by a scarcity of climatic information at the same temporal scale as the human behaviors documented in archaeological sites. This is mainly caused by high uncertainties in the chronometric dates used to correlate long-term climatic records with archaeological deposits. One solution is to generate climatic data directly from archaeological materials representing human behavior. Here we use oxygen isotope measurements of Bos/Bison tooth enamel to reconstruct summer and winter temperatures in the Late Pleistocene when Neandertals were using the site of La Ferrassie. Our results indicate that, despite the generally cold conditions of the broader period and despite direct evidence for cold features in certain sediments at the site, Neandertals used the site predominantly when climatic conditions were mild, similar to conditions in modern day France. We suggest that due to millennial scale climate variability, the periods of human activity and their climatic characteristics may not be representative of average conditions inferred from chronological correlations with long-term climatic records. These results highlight the importance of using direct routes, such as the high-resolution archives in tooth enamel from anthropogenically accumulated faunal assemblages, to establish climatic conditions at a human scale.

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Phylogenetic and Cultural Adaptations in Human Behavior

Animal Models in Human Psychobiology ◽

10.1007/978-1-4684-2184-2_6 ◽

1976 ◽

pp. 77-98

Author(s):

Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt

Keyword(s):

Human Behavior ◽

Cultural Adaptations

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Morphology and structure ofHomo erectushumeri from Zhoukoudian, Locality 1

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.4279 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

pp. e4279 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Song Xing ◽

Kristian J. Carlson ◽

Pianpian Wei ◽

Jianing He ◽

Wu Liu

Keyword(s):

Late Pleistocene ◽

East Asian ◽

Strength Properties ◽

Upper Paleolithic ◽

Adaptive Responses ◽

Regional Variability ◽

High Resolution Computed Tomography ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Chinese Populations ◽

Multiple Regions

BackgroundRegional diversity in the morphology of theH. erectuspostcranium is not broadly documented, in part, because of the paucity of Asian sites preserving postcranial fossils. Yet, such an understanding of the initial hominin taxon to spread throughout multiple regions of the world is fundamental to documenting the adaptive responses to selective forces operating during this period of human evolution.MethodsThe current study reports the first humeral rigidity and strength properties of East AsianH. erectusand places its diaphyseal robusticity into broader regional and temporal contexts. We estimate true cross-sectional properties of Zhoukoudian Humerus II and quantify new diaphyseal properties of Humerus III using high resolution computed tomography. Comparative data for AfricanH. erectusand Eurasian Late PleistoceneH. sapienswere assembled, and new data were generated from two modern Chinese populations.ResultsDifferences between East Asian and AfricanH. erectuswere inconsistently expressed in humeral cortical thickness. In contrast, East AsianH. erectusappears to exhibit greater humeral robusticity compared to AfricanH. erectuswhen standardizing diaphyseal properties by the product of estimated body mass and humeral length. East AsianH. erectushumeri typically differed less in standardized properties from those of side-matched Late Pleistocene hominins (e.g., Neanderthals and more recent Upper Paleolithic modern humans) than did AfricanH. erectus, and often fell in the lower range of Late Pleistocene humeral rigidity or strength properties.DiscussionQuantitative comparisons indicate that regional variability in humeral midshaft robusticity may characterizeH. erectusto a greater extent than presently recognized. This may suggest a temporal difference withinH. erectus, or possibly different ecogeographical trends and/or upper limb loading patterns across the taxon. Both discovery and analysis of more adultH. erectushumeri are critical to further evaluating and potentially distinguishing between these possibilities.

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Going Beyond the Western Pass: Chinese Folk Models of Danger and Abandonment in Songs of Separation

Modern China ◽

10.1177/0097700419874888 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 46 (5) ◽

pp. 490-520

Author(s):

Levi S. Gibbs

Keyword(s):

Northern China ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Shanxi Province ◽

Public Language ◽

Left Behind ◽

Ethnographic Interviews ◽

Migrant Laborers ◽

Song Lyrics ◽

Folk Models ◽

Great Wall

From the early Qing dynasty (1644–1911) to the beginning of the People’s Republic, men in northern China from drought-prone regions of northwestern Shanxi province and northeastern Shaanxi province would travel beyond the Great Wall to find work in western Inner Mongolia, in a migration known as “going beyond the Western Pass” 走西口. This article analyzes anthologized song lyrics and ethnographic interviews about this migration to explore how songs of separation performed at temple fairs approached danger and abandonment using traditional metaphors and “folk models” similar to those of parents protecting children from life’s hazards and widows and widowers lamenting the loss of loved ones. I argue that these duets between singers embodying the roles of migrant laborers and the women they left behind provided a public language for audiences to reflect upon and contextualize private emotions in a broader social context, offering rhetorical resolutions to ambivalent anxieties.

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Identification of Double-layered Water-filled Zones Using TEM: A Case Study in China

Journal of Environmental and Engineering Geophysics ◽

10.2113/jeeg23.3.297 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 297-304

Author(s):

Guoqiang Xue ◽

Dongyang Hou ◽

Weizhong Qiu

Keyword(s):

Field Survey ◽

Coal Mines ◽

Northern China ◽

Shanxi Province ◽

Well Drilling ◽

Borehole Logging ◽

Transient Electromagnetic ◽

Geophysical Technique ◽

Instrument Sensitivity

At present in China, the use of the transient electromagnetic method (TEM) is emerging as a leading geophysical technique for exploration of water-filled zones in coal mines. These zones are more conductive than the host coal and are easy targets to map. However, there is a growing interest for the investigations of double-layered or multi-layered mined-out zones. Therefore, it is necessary to study the feasibility of TEM's abilities to detect double-layered, water-filled voids. In this study, the basic hydrogeological conditions of a survey area, located in the northern China, are described. The corresponding geophysical models of the single- and double-layered water-filled zones are developed from borehole logging data. Then, forward calculations of different models are carried out with 1D numerical simulations. The modeling results show that it is feasible for TEM to identify these types of targets under certain conditions, including instrument sensitivity, low resistivity for the water-filled zones, and shallower depths. Moreover, the field survey for locating double-layered water-filled zones in coal mines in the Datong region of Shanxi Province is verified by well drilling.

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Prevalence and multilocus genotypes of Enterocytozoon bieneusi in alpacas (Vicugna pacos) in Shanxi Province, northern China

Parasitology Research ◽

10.1007/s00436-019-06503-7 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 118 (12) ◽

pp. 3371-3375 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ye-Ting Ma ◽

Yang Zou ◽

Qing Liu ◽

Shi-Chen Xie ◽

Run-Li Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Northern China ◽

Enterocytozoon Bieneusi ◽

Shanxi Province ◽

Multilocus Genotypes ◽

Vicugna Pacos

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Megafaunal Butchering at Lubbock Lake, Texas: A Taphonomic Reanalysis

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/0033-5894(88)90026-9 ◽

1988 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 221-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Lee Ann Kreutzer

Keyword(s):

Human Behavior ◽

Late Pleistocene ◽

Meat Processing ◽

Faunal Remains ◽

Point Bar ◽

Feature Structure ◽

Bone Accumulation ◽

Rule Out

Five seasons of excavation in Feature Area 2-1 of the Lubbock Lake Landmark, Texas, exposed a megafaunal bone accumulation in sands and gravels deposited by a late Pleistocene meandering stream. Many bone specimens exhibit evidence of alteration, supporting interpretation of the feature as an in situ, secondary meat-processing area; the gravels are interpreted as the point bar of a meandering stream. Faunal remains lying stratigraphically above the point bar have been considered to form a separate, noncultural feature produced by stream flooding. However, rose diagrams and analysis of adjusted residuals demonstrate that a statistically significant amount of bone in each feature is aligned along axes of preferred orientation. Further, the orientation patterns and statistical analyses of both features exhibit the same trends, suggesting that the same processes affected both. Although the evidence does not rule out a role of human behavior, it does demonstrate that stream currents significantly influenced feature structure.

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