Revisiting the origin of modern humans in China and its implications for global human evolution

Abstract

The debates over the origin of modern humans have long been centered on two competing theories: the “Out-of-Africa” (single-place origin) theory and the “Multi-regional Evolution” theory. China is an extremely important region where many ancient human fossils were collected along with numerous associated faunal remains and artefacts. These cultural remains, unearthed from different areas in the country and covering a long time span, will help clarify the controversy. The study of cultural materials in China is expected to shed important light on biological evolutionary patterns and social and technical developments of those early humans as well as their environmental conditions. Based on the analysis of Chinese fossils and associated materials, in conjunction with some genetic studies, this paper aims at evaluating each of the two theories in order to stimulate more discussions. Our study suggests that the evolutionary model of “Continuity with Hybridization“ is most relevant in reflecting the current understanding of human evolutionary history in China. Furthermore, we propose that the concept of regional diversity of evolutionary models should be seriously considered to illustrate different evolutionary modes applied to different parts of the world.