The Unwritten Chronicles

List of Figures

Figure 1.1: The Out of Africa hypothesis

Figure 1.2: The multiregional origins hypothesis

List of Table

Table 2.1: Ancient humans from different periods and regions

Preface: Genes Know the Answer

Do the Peking Man of Zhoukoudian represent our Chinese direct lineage? If indeed, we stem from the African Homo sapiens, then why doesn’t our complexion mirror their ebony shade? Which cultivated plants and beasts are native, and which are foreign, and how did they shape our ancestry? What are the origins of the multitude of ethnicities found within China, and how did they navigate the vast Chinese terrain? Do we share a common thread with ethnic groups scattered around the globe?

Genes know the answer.

Historians find themselves in a quandary, the farther they venture into the annals of time, the scarcer the historical records, rendering the true face of history elusive. This same predicament plagues archaeologists when they encounter sites bereft of written testimonies, leaving them bewildered as to which group or town these relics align with in the chronicles of yore. And yet, it is the field of paleoanthropology that most ardently laments, for it grapples with the prehistoric epoch, a time when words had not yet sprung forth, leaving only silent remnants such as ancient fossils and primitive tools.

Ironically, it is in the pre-written era that many profoundly influential events unfolded in human history. The evolution and migration of ancient humans over countless eons remain veiled in a wordless shroud, with but rare vestiges to afford us glimpses of the past. The domestication of major crops, the taming of fowl and livestock, and the genesis of navigation, pottery, metallurgy, and architecture all predate the advent of written language. As such, posterity often resorts to weaving tales to ascribe names to the pioneers of these innovations, deprived of solid evidence.

Even as history took its scriptural form, voluminous knowledge remains unrecorded, or worse, lost amidst the millennia-long flow of time. The infamous episode of “burning books and burying scholars”¹ serves as a quintessential example. Additionally, not every ancient chronicler bore the weight of responsibility. Some, driven by ulterior motives, manipulated and falsified history, exalting the victorious and disparaging the defeated.

Beyond the haze of unreliable literary accounts and the mute whispers of archaeological evidence, does no other avenue lead us to uncover further historical verity?

Since 1980s, a wondrous interplay of disciplines has graced the scientific stage. Molecular biology has crossed into the domains of paleoanthropology, history, and archaeology, harnessing ancient and contemporary human and animal genetics to unveil truths beyond the scope of conventional inquiry. Most notably, it has laid bare the intricate tapestry of prehistoric human migrations.

Why do genes reveal history? How do biologists achieve this?

In essence, genes bear the legacy of ancestry and the subtle hues of variation across generations. Through gene comparison, one can discern the genetic kinship between individuals and groups, gauging the proximity of ties or the stretch of distance to their common forebears. Thus, a web of connections forms among the contemporaries, and a thread links the ancient tribes to the present.

Consider the Y-chromosome in humans—its genes echo the fatherly line, passed down from sire to son, a familial torch carried forward. Similarly, within the mitochondria, maternally inherited genes unveil the maternal link, streaming from mother to daughter. From these Y-chromosomal whispers, we ascertain the closeness of different male peers, revealing the ancestral bonds between antiquity’s men and their modern counterparts, shedding light on the migration dance of history. This pattern extends to matrilineal mitochondrial genes. Moreover, since the domestication and dissemination of flora and fauna entwine with specific ancient societies and their wanderings, delving into the genetic realm of domesticated organisms unveils a trove of human history—a vivid account of antiquity’s agriculture, pastoral pursuits, and nomadic odysseys.

Hence, molecular biology delves into history, and molecular biologists metamorphose into historians.

During my college days, an esteemed mentor uttered this truth: the termination of the “Cultural Revolution” (1966–1976) ushered back weathered geologists to academia. Alas, they found a transformed geological doctrine—plate tectonics reconstructed the very edifice of geological theory. Likewise, in the 1990s, as my university days blossomed, the “Out of Africa” theory, rooted in genetic exploration, graced lecture halls, leaving a seismic imprint on the annals of paleontology, archaeology, and history.

Molecular biology’s “cross-disciplinary impact,” akin to the seismic cataclysm of plate tectonics, remolds prehistoric lore, and the grand tapestry of human civilization. Previous scholars’ comparative research on ancient human bones, stone relics, and clay pottery, though invaluable, craves a fresh evaluation—through the lens of molecular biology. Indeed, many prior findings may stand as bastions of truth, resilient and exact, yet a substantial corpus awaits correction.

In the annals of antiquity and the dust of archaeological remains, scientists of the molecular realm have unearthed an “unwritten chronicles.” Deciphering the enigmatic genetic code inscribed upon it, they have illumined human history afresh. Ancestral origins, evolution’s dance, migrations’ meanderings, and the minutiae of daily existence have found new revelation.

Beyond genetic research, the analysis of trace elements and isotopes has also achieved “interdisciplinary” breakthroughs, entwining within the humanities. Humans and animals absorb specific elements from their environment and food while they are alive, leaving behind elemental information in their bones, teeth, and stems after death. Using this information, scientists can infer the environment they lived in, the food they ate, or the nutrients they absorbed during their time, all of which are parts of history.

The greatest advantage of using these high-tech methods, such as genetics and elements, to study ancient humans, archaeology, and history lies in their authenticity. Records penned by ancients, whimsically colored by omission, memory’s haze, or biased designs—these do not define the scientific revelations uncovered by genes and elements. Here, science reigns supreme, built upon verifiable truths and objective data. The scrutineers persist, testing, replicating, and upholding the rigors of sound research, banishing the specter of deceit.

With decades of relentless pursuit, led by molecular biology, the high-tech arsenal emerges—a formidable force within the humanities, yielding countless insights. Its stores of wisdom burgeon, a testament to the narrative bound in the wordless historical record of our lineage. Behold, within its parchment, lies the unwritten chronicles—the genesis of species, the migration of tribes, the symphony of sustenance, and the cultural thread.

Now, the tome lies open—our unwritten chronicles beckons—a voyage of ancestral discovery, guided by the timeless wisdom inscribed within the genes.

CHAPTER 1 The Bitter Journey to Beatific Country: The Million Years of Homo Erectus in East Asia

In the year of 1929, amidst the melancholy of early winter, the desolate Dragon Bone Hill (龙骨山) bore witness to a scene of diligent excavation.

A group of individuals, under the auspices of China’s Geological Survey and the Beijing Union Medical College, embarked on an archaeological quest within the environs of Zhoukoudian in Fangshan district. Their pursuit lay in unearthing the vestiges of prehistoric life concealed within the Quaternary strata. Among them, their leader, harboring a flicker of hope, could not help but imagine the profound impact that a discovery of ancient human remains would yield.