The earliest archaeological record of Menispermaceae from the mid-Pleistocene Palaeolithic Gantangqing site in central Yunnan, Southwest China and its environmental implications
{"title":"The earliest archaeological record of Menispermaceae from the mid-Pleistocene Palaeolithic Gantangqing site in central Yunnan, Southwest China and its environmental implications","authors":"Guan-Yu Chen, Jian-Hui Liu, Huan-Chong Wang, Yong-Jiang Huang","doi":"10.1007/s41826-025-00103-4","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Menispermaceae is a large family with a rich fossil record, but its archaeological occurrences remain scarce. Here we report the earliest archaeological record of the family, based on structurally preserved fruit stones (endocarps) of its two genera, namely <i>Sinomenium</i> and <i>Stephania</i>, recovered from multiple layers at the mid-Pleistocene (361‒250 Ka BP) Paleolithic Gantangqing site in the southern Fuxian Lake basin, central Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The fruit stones of <i>Sinomenium</i> are characterized by a horseshoe shape, an excavated central area surrounded by a slightly asymmetrical C-shaped lateral crest decorated with transverse ridges and an elliptic aperture located near the longer limb. Those of <i>Stephania</i> are characterized by a horseshoe shape with a lateral crest decorated with transverse ribs and a condyle area. As the modern plants of the two genera grow in the understory or on the edge of evergreen broadleaved forests in tropical to subtropical climates, we propose a tropical to subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest at or near the Gantangqing site in central Yunnan during the mid-Pleistocene. Based on the human occupation of the Gantangqing site at the time of plant deposition, we further suggest that these early humans probably lived in or on the edge of this tropical to subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in the vicinity of the ancient Fuxian Lake at that time.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":93733,"journal":{"name":"Asian archaeology","volume":"9 1","pages":"53 - 71"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Asian archaeology","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41826-025-00103-4","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Menispermaceae is a large family with a rich fossil record, but its archaeological occurrences remain scarce. Here we report the earliest archaeological record of the family, based on structurally preserved fruit stones (endocarps) of its two genera, namely Sinomenium and Stephania, recovered from multiple layers at the mid-Pleistocene (361‒250 Ka BP) Paleolithic Gantangqing site in the southern Fuxian Lake basin, central Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The fruit stones of Sinomenium are characterized by a horseshoe shape, an excavated central area surrounded by a slightly asymmetrical C-shaped lateral crest decorated with transverse ridges and an elliptic aperture located near the longer limb. Those of Stephania are characterized by a horseshoe shape with a lateral crest decorated with transverse ribs and a condyle area. As the modern plants of the two genera grow in the understory or on the edge of evergreen broadleaved forests in tropical to subtropical climates, we propose a tropical to subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest at or near the Gantangqing site in central Yunnan during the mid-Pleistocene. Based on the human occupation of the Gantangqing site at the time of plant deposition, we further suggest that these early humans probably lived in or on the edge of this tropical to subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in the vicinity of the ancient Fuxian Lake at that time.