Cranial Morphology of a 21,000-Year-Old Homo sapiens From Southwest China

This study reports a new hominin cranium, dated to 21,000 years ago, offering novel insights into the evolutionary pattern of the cranial morphology of the East Asian Homo sapiens over the past 40,000 years.

The cranium (22IVPP-H-Cr01) was scanned and virtually reconstructed. Its morphology was described and compared primarily with other fossil H. sapiens. To better contextualize cranial variation, specimens of Homo heidelbergensis, East Asian late Middle Pleistocene archaic Homo, Homo neanderthalensis, and recent H. sapiens were also added to the comparative sample. Additionally, cranial measurements were conducted on the 22IVPP-H-Cr01 and compared with those of other taxonomic groups to assess its evolutionary status through principal component analysis.

The 22IVPP-H-Cr01 cranium represents a female aged ~35-40 years. It exhibits typical H. sapiens morphology while retaining ancestral traits, including pronounced prognathism, a broad interorbital region, and wide nasal aperture. Overall, the cranial configuration of 22IVPP-H-Cr01 appears more derived than pre-LGM (Last Glacial Maximum) H. sapiens yet more primitive than post-LGM H. sapiens in East Asia.

Compared to East Asian pre-LGM H. sapiens, post-LGM populations exhibit significant morphological variability. The 22IVPP-H-Cr01 specimen from Southwest China, dated to the LGM, may represent a candidate link between these two chronological groups. This finding supports population continuity at least in southern East Asia over the past 40,000 years, contrasting with the local population replacement documented in northern East Asia.