Chapter 1: Asian Paleoanthropology: An Introduction	13
	Introduction	13
	Contents of This Volume	14
	Theoretical Approaches, Expectations, and Re-Evaluations	14
	The Current State of the Asian Paleoanthropological Record	15
	Discussion	16
	References	16
	Chapter 2: The Colonization of “Savannahstan”: Issues of Timing(s) and Patterns of Dispersal Across Asia in the Late Pliocene a	18
	Introduction	18
	Problems with the “Out of Africa 1” Model	20
	The Emergence and Consequences of Grasslands in Late Pliocene East Africa	20
	The Development of “Savannahstan” – The Asian Grasslands	21
	The Tibetan Plateau and the Grasslands of North China	21
	The South Asian Grasslands and the Indian Monsoon	23
	Central and Southwest Asia	23
	Early Pleistocene Lakes in Asia	24
	The Longevity and Importance of the Asian Grasslands	25
	Sangiran: Were the Earliest Hominins Inhabiting a Swampy Estuary?	26
	The Uncertain Origins and Distinctiveness of Homo erectus	27
	The Origin of H. erectus: Africa or Asia?	27
	The Dmanisi Hominins	28
	Were Hominin Migrations Always One-Way from Africa to Asia?	28
	Absence of Evidence and Evidence of Absence	29
	Southwest Asia: The Black Hole of Paleoanthropology	30
	Dispersal Events and the Importance of Absence of Evidence	31
	Some Alternative Perspectives	32
	An Ultra-Long Chronology: Hominins Have Been in Asia as long as in Africa	32
	The Implications of A. bahrelghazali (Chad): Could Hominins Have Dispersed out of Africa c. 3.0–3.5 Ma?	32
	The Implications of Kadar Gona (Ethiopia): Could Hominins Have Dispersed out of Africa c. 2.6 Ma?	33
	Routes of Dispersal	33
	Dispersals or Colonisation?	35
	Summary	35
	References	36
	Chapter 3: On the Road to China: The Environmental Landscape of the Early Pleistocene in Western Eurasia and Its Implication	42
	Introduction	42
	The Use of Large Mammals to Identify Grasslands in Paleoecological Analysis	43
	Indicator Species	44
	Ecological Diversity Analysis	44
	Community-Wide Taxonomic Diversity	44
	Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites	44
	Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Indicator Species Method	44
	Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Ecological Diversity Method	45
	Paleoecological Reconstructions of Plio-Pleistocene Higher Latitude Sites Using the Community-Wide Taxonomic Diversity Method	45
	Are the Methods Discordant?	45
	Can These Paleoecological Reconstructions Be Reconciled?	45
	Discussion and Conclusion	48
	References	49
	Chapter 4: Africa and Asia: Comparisons of the Earliest Archaeological Evidence	52
	Introduction	52
	The Oldowan of Africa	52
	An Asian Perspective on the Oldowan	53
	The Context of the Asian Early Paleolithic	53
	The Asian Early Paleolithic: Predictions and Current Data	54
	Nihewan Basin	55
	Discussion	56
	Conclusion	57
	References	57
	Chapter 5: Inter-continental Variation in Acheulean Bifaces	60
	Introduction	60
	Geographic Regions	61
	Eastern Africa	61
	The Arabian Peninsula	62
	The Indian Sub-continent	63
	Eastern Asia	63
	Analyses	63
	Discussion	64
	References	65
	Chapter 6: Cranial Shape in Asian Homo erectus: Geographic, Anagenetic, and Size-Related Variation	67
	Introduction	67
	Materials	68
	Methods	69
	Data Acquisition and Processing	69
	Study Design	72
	Statistical Analysis	73
	Visualization	74
	Results	74
	Neurocranium	74
	Maximum Landmarks Analysis	74
	Maximum Indonesians Analysis	76
	Maximum Zhoukoudian Analysis	76
	Indonesians Only Analysis	78
	Frontal Bone Analysis	79
	Temporal Base Analysis	81
	Occipital Bone Analysis	83
	Discussion:	84
	Geographic Patterns of Variation	84
	Size-Related and Temporal Variation	84
	Variation Within Javanese Homo erectus	85
	Relationships Among Javanese Homo erectus	86
	Evidence for Separate Lineages in Java > 1 Ma	86
	Conclusions	86
	References	87
	Chapter 7: Rethinking the Palearctic-Oriental Biogeographic Boundary in Quaternary China	90
	Introduction	90
	Chinese Quaternary Environment	90
	Plio-Pleistocene Division	91
	Quaternary Biogeography	91
	Central-East China: A Migration Corridor?	94
	Discussion	97
	Conclusions	106
	References	107
	Chapter 8: The History of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia in Review	110
	Introduction	110
	Defining Central Asia: How Big Is It?	111
	The Paleoclimate of Central Asia	111
	Earliest Evidence of Hominin Occupation of Central Asia	112
	The Late Pleistocene of Central Asia	114
	Who Inhabited Central Asia During the Pleistocene? The Hominin Fossil Record	115
	Concluding Remarks	118
	References	119
	Chapter 9: Core-and-Flake Assemblages of Central and Peninsular India	122
	Introduction	122
	Northern India	123
	Central India	126
	Western India	130
	Eastern India	131
	Southern India	131
	Discussion	132
	Conclusions	133
	References	134
	Chapter 10: South Asia as a Geographic Crossroad: Patterns and Predictions of Hominin Morphology in Pleistocene India	138
	Introduction	138
	Background	138
	Middle Pleistocene Hominin Morphology in South Asia	139
	Materials and Methods	140
	Evolutionary Scenarios for H. heidelbergensis	143
	Results	143
	Discussion	145
	Models and Predictions for South Asia	146
	Conclusion	147
	References	148
	Chapter 11: Cranial Morphology and Variation of the Earliest Indonesian Hominids	151
	Introduction	151
	Materials and Methods	153
	Materials	153
	Comparative Samples and Data Collection	154
	Analysis	154
	Hypotheses To Be Tested	154
	Test 1: Morphology of Trinil 2 and Sangiran 2	154
	Test 2: Bp 9408 and Bu 9604	157
	Bp 9408	158
	Bu 9604	158
	Summary	159
	Test 3: Variation and Morphological Affinities of the Expanded Grenzbank/Sangiran Cranial Sample	159
	Discussion	160
	Question of Great Variation	161
	Questions of Taxonomy and Evolutionary Grade	162
	Dates of the Oldest Indonesian Hominids	162
	Origins of the Robust Cranial Characteristics	162
	Conclusions	163
	References	163
	Chapter 12: Central-East China – A Plio-Pleistocene Dispersal Corridor: The Current State of Evidence for Hominin Occupations	166
	Introduction	166
	Natural Barriers and Possible Migration Corridors	167
	Through the Qinling Mountain Range	169
	East of the Qinling Mountain Range	170
	Discussion	172
	Relatively Few Early and Middle Pleistocene Sites Have Been Identified in CE China	172
	Many of the Existing Sites Require More Detailed Study	172
	Conclusions	173
	References	173
	Chapter 13: The Earliest Hominin Occupations in the Nihewan Basin of Northern China: Recent Progress in Field Investigations	176
	Introduction	176
	Background	176
	Chronology	178
	The Lower Palaeolithic Sites	178
	Xiaochangliang	178
	Donggutuo	180
	Dachangliang	180
	Goudi (Majuangou III)	181
	Lithic Technology of the Nihewan Hominins	182
	Raw Material Procurement	182
	Core Reduction	183
	Flake-Tool Production	183
	Tool Utilization	184
	Discussion and Summary	184
	References	186
	Chapter 14: Peopling in the Korean Peninsula	188
	Introduction	188
	The Oldest Hominin Fossils from the Korean Peninsula	188
	The Earliest Archaeological Sites	192
	The Current State of Research on the Oldest Industries in Korea	192
	Old Fashioned Artifacts in New Contexts	194
	What Is the Age of the Earliest Occupation and What Types of Stone Industries Were Associated with This Earliest Dispersal?	195
	References	195
	Chapter 15: When Were the Earliest Hominin Migrations to the Japanese Islands?	198
	Introduction	198
	Vertebrate Paleontology	198
	Pleistocene Hominin Fossils in Japan	199
	Lithic Industries Older than c. 30 ka in Japan	201
	The Earliest Site in Japan: Kanedori	202
	Lithic Industries from the Kanedori Site	203
	Tephrochronology at the Kanedori Site	204
	Discussion	205
	Conclusions	206
	References	206