化石和文物：古人类化石应列入文物范畴吗？

刚才我读了2013年12月18日《中国文物报》刊载的题为《古人类化石应列入文物范畴》的文章，涉及到古人类化石的管理和研究。这是一个老问题，但在思想认识和管理操作上仍有争议。

1.     何为化石？----自然历史的证据，为自然的产物，如：植物化石。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil

    Fossils(from Classical Latin fossilis, literally "obtained by digging[1]")are the preserved remains or traces of animals (also known as zoolites), plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous (fossil-containing) rock formations and sedimentary layers (strata) is known as the fossil record.

The study of fossils across geological time, how they were formed, and the evolutionary relationships between taxa (phylogeny) are some of the most important functions of the science of paleontology.Such a preserved specimen is called a "fossil" if it is older than some minimum age, most often the arbitrary date of 10,000 years.[2]Hence, fossils range in age from the youngest at the start of the Holocene Epoch to the oldest from the Archaean Eon,up to 3.48 billion years old.[3][4][5] The observation that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led early geologists to recognize a geological timescale in the 19th century. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed geologists to determine the numerical or "absolute" age of the various strata and thereby the included fossils.

Like extant organisms, fossils vary in size from microscopic,even single bacterial cells[6] one micrometer in diameter, to gigantic, such as dinosaurs and trees many meters long and weighing many tons. A fossil normally preserves only a portion of the deceased organism, usually that portion that was partially mineralized during life, such as the bones and teeth of vertebrates, orthe chitinous or calcareous exoskeletons of invertebrates.Fossils may also consist of the marks left behind by the organism while it was alive, such as the footprint or feces (coprolites) of a reptile.These types of fossil are called trace fossils (or ichnofossils), as opposed to body fossils. Finally, past life leaves some markers that cannot beseen but can be detected in the form of biochemical signals; these are known as chemofossils or biomarkers.

2. 何为文物？人类社会历史的证据，为社会的产物，如：兵马俑。      

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antique

An antique (Latin: antiquus; "old","ancient") is an old collectable item. It is collected or desirable because of its age, beauty, rarity,condition, utility, personal emotional connection, and/or other unique features. It is an object that represents a previous era or time period in human society.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artifact_(archaeology)

An artifact or artefact (from Latin phrase artefactum, from ars skill + facere to make) is "something made or given shape by man, such as a tool or a work of art, esp an object of archaeological interest".[1] "Artifact" is the only spelling in North American English, but other varieties of English also accept "artefact"[2] (see spelling differences).

In archaeology, where there used, an artifact is an object recovered by archaeological endeavor, which may have a cultural interest.

3. 何为人类？既有自然属性，又有社会属性；既有自然历史，又有社会历史。

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human

Humans (variously Homosapiens and Homo sapiens sapiens) are primates of the family Hominidae,and the only extantspecies of thegenus Homo.^[2][3]Humans are distinguished from other primates by their bipedall ocomotion, and especially by their relatively larger brainwith its particularly well developed neocortex, prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes, which enable high levels of abstract reasoning, language, problemsolving, and culture through social learning. Humans use tools to a much higher degree than any other animal, and are theonly extant species known to build fires and cook their food, as well as the only known species to clothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts. The scientific study of humans is the discipline of anthropology.

4. 何为人类学?

Anthropology

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology

Anthropology /ænθrɵˈpɒlədʒi/ is the study of humankind,past and present,^[1][2] that draws and builds upon knowledgefrom social and biological sciences, as well as the humanities and the natural sciences.^[3][4]

Since the work of Franz Boasand Bronisław Malinowski in the late 19th andearly 20th centuries, anthropology in Great Britain and US has beendistinguished from ethnology^[5] and from other social sciences by itsemphasis on cross-cultural comparisons, long-termin-depth examination of context, and the importance it places on participant-observation or experiential immersion in the area of research. Cultural anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativism, holism, and the useof findings to frame cultural critiques.^[6] This has been particularly prominent in the United States, from Boas's arguments against 19th-century racial ideology,through Margaret Mead's advocacy for gender equality and sexual liberation, to current criticisms of post-colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism.Ethnography is one of its primary methods as well as the text that is generated from anthropological fieldwork.^[7][8][9]

While in Great Britain and the Commonwealth countries, the British tradition of Social Anthropology tends to dominate, in the United States anthropology is traditionally divided into the four field approach developed by Franz Boas in the early 20th century: biological or physical anthropology, social anthropology or cultural anthropology, archaeologyand anthropological linguistics. These fields  frequently overlap, but tend to use different methodologies and techniques.

In those European countries that did not have overseas colonies, where ethnology (aterm coined and defined by Adam F. Kollár in 1783) was more wide spread, social anthropology is now defined as the study of social organization in non-state societies and is sometimes referred to as sociocultural anthropology in the parts of the world that were influenced by the European tradition.^[10]

5. 中国的古人类学研究

中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所

http://www.ivpp.cas.cn/jggk/jgjj/

http://www.ivpp.cas.cn/jgsz/kybm/grlyyjs/

古人类研究室

主要开展古人类体质特征、行为特点和旧石器技术与文化研究；探索人类的起源和进化；重建早期人类演化迁徙和文化发展的历史。

周口店国际古人类研究中心

主要开展周口店遗址与附近地区的古人类学、旧石器考古学、第四纪哺乳动物学和环境变迁等相关领域的综合研究。

6.  英国伦敦自然历史博物馆的人类学研究

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/earth-sciences/anthropology/anthropology-research/index.html

http://www.nhm.ac.uk/print-version/?p=/research-curation/earth-sciences/anthropology/anthropology-research/index.html

Anthropology is a broad subject. The areas covered in the Palaeontology Department come within the field of biological anthropology also known as physical anthropology.

Our research ranges from the study and dating of early fossil humans such as the Neanderthals through to work on the growth and development of modern people.

7.  美国主流自然历史博物馆的人类学研究

7.1 The Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C. USA

http://anthropology.si.edu/

Anthropology is the study of human beings and societies in the past and present. The research conducted by the Department of Anthropology staff covers a wide range of topics and areas of the world. Some of the research topics include human-environmental interactions, population migration, origins of domestication, linguistics, and forensic anthropology.

7.2 The Division of Anthropology of American Museum of Natural History, NYC, USA

http://www.amnh.org/our-research/anthropology

The Division of Anthropology is concerned with all aspects of human behavior, past,present, and with an eye to the future. Our work is biological, socio-cultural,archeological and linguistic. As one ofthe oldest departments of anthropology in the United States, our collectionsand archives are important resources for the history and continuing work of our discipline.

Established in 1873, only four years after the Museum's founding, the Division has acquired over 500,000 objects representing the peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia,Europe and the Pacific Islands.

 7.3 The Anthropology Department of the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, CA, USA

http://www.nhm.org/site/research-collections/anthropology-archaeology

The Anthropology Department of the Natural History Museum of Los AngelesCounty curates archaeological and ethnographic collections collected by and donated to the Museum. Objects from the Anthropology Collections are on display in several exhibit halls and display cases throughout the Museum. Collections are also available for scholarly research. The Archaeology Collection includes approximately 100,000 ancient artifacts.

     孙启高  

 2013年12月18日整理

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附:古人类化石应列入文物范畴（作者：郑子良）

   《中国文物报》2013年12月18日第3版

http://www.ccrnews.com.cn/a/xinwengonggao/news/zonghexinwen/2013/1218/49675.html

古人类化石是研究远古人类起源、生产生活及其文化综合状况的重要实物。我国是古人类化石埋藏非常丰富的国家。从20世纪20年代起，随着法国科学家德日进在内蒙古河套地区采集到人齿化石、瑞典地质学家安特生主持开展北京猿人化石发掘工作至今，经过我国考古工作者近一个世纪的不懈努力，全国各地发现了大量古人类活动的地点与遗迹，并出土了众多古人类化石及与人类起源有关的古猿化石（如禄丰古猿化石等），基本建立了从早更新世连续传承至旧石器时代与新石器时代的人类进化与发展链条，丰富了世人对中国古人类发展谱系及中华民族多元一体格局的认识。　　

我国政府历来高度重视古人类化石的保护。早在1930年，中华民国政府颁布了《古物保存法》，明确规定“古物”指“与考古学、历史学、古生物学及其他文化有关之一切古物而言”，此中的古生物学方面的古物就包括了古人类化石。1935年南京国民政府行政院修正公布的《暂定古物范围及种类大纲》，其中古生物及史前遗物中就包括了古人类化石。新中国成立伊始，政务院于1950年发布《禁止珍贵文物图书出口暂行办法》，列举了七种文物品类，其中第三类为“史前遗物”，具体内容有“史前人类之遗物、遗迹及化石等”，此中的化石就应是古人类化石。1960年文化部、对外贸易部《关于文物出口鉴定标准的几点意见》中，所附文物出口鉴定参考标准明确将“古人类化石”列为第二类，内容包括一切人类遗物遗迹的化石。1961年3月，国务院在转发中国科学院《关于保护古脊椎动物化石问题的请示报告的通知》中，要求各地政府重视古生物化石的收藏和保管工作，以满足文化部门和博物馆古生物部门发展的需要。

也就是从1961年起，随着政府部门职能的划分，古人类化石与古生物化石一起被划入地质部门（后来的国土资源管理部门）管理。1961年国务院发布的《文物保护管理暂行条例》中，在国家保护的文物范围中已然没有古人类化石的内容，并规定“本条例公布后，中央人民政府政务院和国务院过去发布的有关文物保护管理的法规，除其中保护稀有生物和古生物化石的规定仍继续有效外，一律废止。”该条明确划清了古生物化石保护与文物保护的界线。1982年颁布的《文物保护法》指出“具有科学价值的古脊椎动物化石和古人类化石同文物一样受国家保护”，明确规定古人类化石等同于文物，但不是文物，显然已在国家法律层面将古人类化石排除在文物的范畴之外。

1995年原地矿部发布了《地质遗迹保护管理规定》，将古人类化石与产地一并纳入地质遗址保护体系之中。然而，毕竟古人类化石与古生物化石有较大区别，1999年国土资源部下发《关于加强古生物化石保护的通知》，明确古生物化石为自然遗产一部分，与文物有区别，同时还明确国土资源部对全国古生物化石实行统一监督管理，但对于古人类化石则未提及。

2002年修订《文物保护法》时，仍然将古人类化石排除在文物范畴之外。2003年，国家文物局与国土资源部联合发布《关于进一步明确古生物化石保护管理工作的通知》，就古生物化石保护工作明确了各自职责和分工，其中古猿、古人类化石及其与人类活动有关的第四纪古脊椎化石的保护、管理由国家文物局负责。然而在2005年国务院发布的《关于加强文化遗产保护的通知》中，关于物质文化遗产的范畴中没有包括古人类化石。其后，在2010年国务院发布的《古生物化石保护条例》中规定：“古猿、古人类化石以及与人类活动有关的第四纪古脊椎动物化石的保护依照国家文物保护的有关规定执行”，明确将古人类化石等纳入文物管理的范畴。但事实上《文物保护法》依旧规定古人类化石同文物一样受国家保护，并没有赋予古人类化石作为文物的法律地位。以上可见，古人类化石的保护与管理明显存在法律上规定的缺位问题，即古人类化石既不属于《文物保护法》中规定的文物，只是等同文物而受到国家保护，而在古生物化石系列中又明显不包括。这种缺位的原因在于政府职能划分调整后，法律规定没能与之协调配套。这种不协调、不配套造成了目前古人类化石保护在法律保障上两不靠的尴尬地位。

但是，在我国文物保护与管理体系中，却将古人类化石出土的地点（或埋葬区）及遗迹地点作为不可移动文物予以重点保护。周口店遗址与丁村遗址于1961年就列入第一批全国重点文物保护单位，此后至第五批全国重点文物保护单位中，共有15处属古猿和古人类遗址，在第六批和第七批全国重点文物保护单位中，古猿和古人类遗址明显增多。周口店北京人遗址还于 1987年被列为世界文化遗产。2006年文化部审议通过的《古人类化石和古脊椎动物化石保护管理办法》第五条规定“古人类化石和古脊椎动物化石地点以及遗迹地点，纳入不可移动文物的保护和管理体系，并根据其价值，报请核定公布为各级文物保护单位。”出土古人类化石的遗迹及地点都已经在文物保护的法规及政策层面上得到了保障，而遗址中的核心内容——古人类化石却不属于文物，实在是令人匪夷所思。这使得《文物藏品定级标准》等管理规范或标准也无法适用于古人类化石的科学定级。

古人类化石肯定是我国人类社会遗留下来的具有历史、科学价值的物质性文化遗物，也是珍贵的不可再生的文化资源，完全符合文物概念的相关界定。同时，我国还是联合国教科文组织《关于禁止和防止非法进出口文化财产和非法转让其所有权的方法的公约》和国际统一私法协会《关于被盗或者非法出口文物的公约》的缔约国，上述国际公约对文物或文化财产的定义，包括了具有人种学意义的文物，也就是古人类化石。联合国教科文组织发布的《关于保护可移动文化财产的建议》（1978年）规定可移动文化财产包括具有人类学和人种学意义的资料，并在古物中明确包括木乃伊等古尸。中华人民共和国政府和秘鲁共和国政府《保护和收复文化财产协定》（2003年）中，也明确规定“文化、考古、艺术及历史财产”包括“分类的或未分类的人类学材料，包括亚马逊地区濒临灭绝的种族的材料”。因此将古人类化石列入文物范畴是国际上的通行做法。我国在2013年启动的首次全国可移动文物普查工作，在定名规定中，将可移动文物分为古代文物、近现代文物、古脊椎动物化石和古人类化石三类，将古人类化石正式列入调查对象。

此外，我国古代墓葬中多有古人遗骸出土，甚至还有古人尸体的完整出土。如湖南长沙马王堆汉代女尸、湖北荆州凤凰山西汉男尸等，不仅具有重要的历史价值，而且具有重大的科学价值，禁止出国展览。然而，在《文物保护法》所列的文物类别中，古人遗骸均不能归入。

因此，在《文物保护法》修订时，应对古人类化石的文物属性进行明确界定，将其与古人遗骸一并归入可移动文物范围，从而解决这类珍贵文物在法规层面的缺位问题。

（2013年12月18日3版）

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