The Sorting And Preliminary Study Of Animal Fossils At The Doulupo Site In Jixian County,Shanxi Province

The Doulupo site is an early paleolithic site located on the banks of the Qingshui River in Ji County,Shanxi Province.Two excavation units were formally excavated at the site.The total area of excavation was 1,250 square meters.The stratum was divided into 10 layers.A large number of animal fossils were unearthed in the brick gray soil layer and the gravel layer during the early mid-Pleistocene.There are a total of 1541 unearthed relics,including 1539 animal fossils and 2 stone artifacts.The research is mainly on the animal fossils.After careful sorting and reinforcement,a total of 109 specimens can be identified,and a total of 48 fossils below the family can be clearly identified.The identifiable animal species can be divided into four categories: Artiodactyla,Perissodactyla,Carnivora and Rodent,including Cervus(Sika)Selater,Megaloceros pachyosteus,Bovinae,Ovis ammon,Equus and Rhinocerotidae.Among them,the complete rhinoceros skull fossil unearthed at T2 is an unnamed new species.Combining the rhinoceros that appeared during the Pleistocenein China,this paper divides the rhino into the evolution of Coelodonta For the mid-term type,however the specific system classification still needs follow-up research.From the perspective of fossil burial status,the degree of abrasion of fossils is mainly mild abrasion;the degree of weathering is mostly first-degree weathering;some fossils have obvious plant root corrosion;the color of fossils is mostly ivory,and most of them are mixed with black spots.Combined with the existence of a large number of river and lake deposits in the stratum,it is speculated that the formation of the site should be affected by the flood,and the animal bones were buried quickly.According to the analysis of the fauna species at the site,most of the animal species at the Doulupo site are common in the Middle Pleistocene in North China.They are warm and humid,reflecting the characteristics of a warm and humid climate and dense vegetation.From a spatial perspective,through a comparative analysis of 10 sites with clear animal fossil records in North China during the same period,we found that the fauna of the Middle Pleistocene in different areas of northern my country are consistent,that is,most of the animals in the Paleobec are dominated by animals in the East.The number of animals in the world gradually decreases;most of the animal species are large and medium-sized Artiodactylas;mostly forest-type and swamp-type animals.This reflects the general environmental characteristics of the northern region during the Middle Pleistocene that were much warmer than it is now.From a time perspective,according to the comparative study of the Zhoukoudian fauna to which the Doulupo site belongs and the early Pleistocene Gongwangling fauna,it can be seen that North China experienced a warm climate during the Early Pleistocene,and the climate began to deteriorate in the late Early Pleistocene.Environmental changes,leading to a series of changes in the geological environment,which caused the fauna to begin to change,and it was not until the Middle Pleistocene that the climate began to rise.The discovery of the Doulupo site is of great significance for enriching the culture of the middle reaches of the Yellow River and the early Paleolithic period in the north,and supplementing the species of the Middle Pleistocene fauna in North China.It also provides important information for our research on the environmental background at that time.