“In the last twenty years, Chinese archeology has made great strides. The number of Chinese archaeologists interested in the Paleolithic and of archeology departments in universities have increased exponentially ».
Francesco d’Errico – professor of the Department of Archeology of the University of Bordeaux and Research Director of the CNRS – tells us about it – who together with Daniela Rosso – researcher at the University of Valencia – conducted the analysis of a series of archaeological remains of 40 thousand years ago, found at the Xiamabei site in Northern China by an international team of researchers. The analysis of these samples, the results of which were published in the prestigious journal Nature, reveals that the site was frequented by a hitherto unknown population, whose remains do not correspond either to those produced by archaic populations of Asia (the Denisovians) or to those associated with the expansion of modern man (Sapiens sapiens).
The tools of this population are original in many ways. “In ancient Chinese sites, attributable to the Denisovian populations, – explains d’Errico – there are usually stone tools made up of rarely retouched splinters, obtained from medium or bad quality rocks, rarely associated with bone fragments used as strikers for chipping the stone. Furthermore, in these ancient sites red ocher is not used, a mineral pigment rich in iron oxides, which is instead exploited by modern populations. As for the Sapiens, the sites attributed until now to modern men appear starting from 28 thousand years ago and are characterized by very elaborate chipping techniques, applied to minerals of excellent quality such as flint, destined for the production of short lamellas and ends. Otherwise, elongated splinters were found in Xiamabei, probably obtained by percussion on an anvil ».
The inhabitants of Xiamabei made tools by inserting stone chips into bone handles, fixing them with vegetable glues, to work leather and wood and to cut meat. From the large red spot found on the soil of the site it is clear that these populations also used different types of suitably ground ocher, the use of which is still unknown. The discovery, therefore, opens up new doors for us on the key moment of the population of Asia. But does it also tell us that there were more advanced populations than those we were already aware of, such as that of the Denisovans?
«Observing the current situation in Europe, sometimes I have doubts even about the fact that we are more evolved than the Denisovians – comments d’Errico -. And biological, cultural or cognitive evolution does not necessarily go hand in hand. For the moment, our discovery indicates that 40,000 years ago there was a population that developed a culture different from that of the Denisovans and from that of modern men ”. It is plausible that the population discovered in Northern China is one of the first populations of modern humans to settle in this region and that they have had cultural and genetic exchanges with the Denisovans.
«That cultural exchanges have taken place is perfectly possible, indeed probable – explains d’Errico -. From paleogenetic data we know that, arriving in Asia, modern populations have systematically had genetic exchanges with various Denisovan populations. 6% of the genome of some current Southeast Asian populations is the result of these exchanges ». As, on the other hand, some studies have found that part of the genome of us Europeans was inherited by Neanderthals. Although humanity today is not descended from Denisovans or Neanderthals, the Sapiens populations that spread from Africa to Eurasia have systematically engaged in genetic exchanges with both. As, in fact, comments d’Errico, “many of us even wonder if it still makes sense to talk about different species, considering the fact that they have exchanged genes and that this legacy has come down to the present day”.
This is a discovery that will lead scholars to deepen their knowledge of this “new” population. The hybrid character of the cultural behaviors highlighted makes us think of a transition period: all this would exclude a rapid replacement of the Denisovians by modern man, leaving instead room for the hypothesis that there was a period of hybridization, both genetic be cultural. Errico concludes: «The excavations still include a relatively small area that will be enlarged in the near future by Chinese colleagues. A possible discovery of human remains would allow us to better understand what kind of population we are dealing with ». One more piece in the history, at times still unknown, of our controversial origins.