New progress in understanding the origins of modern humans in China

Abstract

Hypotheses concerning the origins of modern humans have been intensively debated, and two competing models, the recent “Out-of-Africa” and “Multiregional Evolution” paradigms, have dominated research and discussions for decades. Evidence from China has played a fundamental role in this debate: regional continuity and replacement by populations in-migrated from Africa have both been suggested and supported mainly by paleoanthropologists and geneticists, respectively. As more evidence has accumulated, new results obtained, and more scholars from various disciplines become involved, supporters of the recent “Out-of-Africa” model agree more or less with the “Multiregional Evolution” model regarding the complex history of modern humans and their interbreeding with other archaic populations (e.g., Neandertals). Recent discoveries of new human fossils, Paleolithic archaeological materials, and ancient DNA evidence in China have yielded a large body of information regarding the formation and development of modern humans in this region. However, controversies continue, including that most molecular biologists insist on the replacement of archaic populations by modern humans dispersed from Africa, while most paleoanthropologists and archaeologists propose an enhanced “Continuity with Hybridization” model. In this paper, we compile new results and progress in China and present the current debates and issues on the origins of modern humans. Finally, we offer several suggestions for future studies.