The physical evolution and biocultural adaptation indicated by the human skeletons of Donghulin site, Beijing

Abstract

Abstract Human remains recovered from the Donghulin site are key materials for the study of the physical evolution and biocultural adaptation of the North Chinese population during the early Holocene. Physical anthropological study of the skeletal remains of two Donghulin individuals shows that their craniofacial heterogeneity and diversity are comparable to that of the Upper Paleolithic population. Early Holocene is the critical period for the formation of the diagnostic craniofacial features of modern East Asian population. The dental macrowear, dental caries, and femoral midshaft diaphyseal cross section geometry suggest that the Donghulin people were undergoing a physical transformation attributable to reduced mobility and broad-spectrum diet, which is consistent with the Upper Paleolithic-Neolithic transition of lifestyle and subsistence strategy.