Age profiles of rhino fauna from the Middle Pleistocene Nanjing man site,south China—explained by the rhino specimens of living species

A total of 60 pieces of rhino materials have been identified from the Nanjing Man site. Morphologically, they belong to the species Dicerorhinus mercki. Among the materials, 40 pieces are broken bones, and 20 are isolated teeth or jaw bones (totally comprising 41 tooth units). Among the teeth, 74% are deciduous, most of them attached to jaws. Other isolated teeth are not greatly worn, meaning they were not naturally replaced, so they represent juvenile animals. Because the skeletons are completely isolated and most of them are broken, their death can not be attributed to a natural trap. Therefore, it is very probable that hominid activities were associated with rhinos at this site. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

麒麟原型与中国古代犀牛活动南移考

麒麟单称麟,又作麐,古文字中作"蔽",古代被视为四灵兽之一。麒麟身上有铠甲式的外表及圆泡钉式的纹斑"肉甲"而被称为"麐"(蔽)或"麟",因有头顶部的一只角而被归于鹿属动物。但据头上独肉角、铠甲式外表、圆泡钉式"肉甲"与马蹄类圆蹄,其原型为印度犀牛。印度犀牛因为气候环境的变迁,不断南移,中原少见,偶尔来至中原,便被认为是因圣王"仁德"而来,这便是麒麟被神化的原因。被称为麒麟的印度犀牛,其生活之地不断南移。商代活动在黄河流域,春秋至秦汉活动在吴越、江汉流域一带,今则仅见于印度东北部和尼伯尔地区。     

Taphonomy,life history,and human exploitation of Rhinoceros sinensis at the Middle Pleistocene site of Panxian Dadong,Guizhou, China

Rhinoceros remains are commonly found in Chinese Pleistocene archaeological localities. This study examines the characteristics of the Rhinoceros sinensis sample from Panxian Dadong, a karst cave in the mountains of western Guizhou province, with a mammalian fauna in association with stone artefacts and human remains from the late Middle Pleistocene (MIS 6‐8). The distribution of skeletal elements shows a predominance of foot (metapodial and phalanges) and lower limb (carpals and tarsals) bones, while the dental age‐at‐death profile, constructed using dental eruption and tooth wear data, is characterised by a high frequency of prime age adult teeth. There is little taphonomic evidence for the involvement of non‐human carnivores or natural agencies in the formation of the faunal assemblage. Instead, it appears that human activities were responsible for the unexpected prevalence of prime age adults. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.