179-705: Gigantopithecus ( / d ʒ aɪ ˌ ɡ æ n t oʊ p ɪ ˈ θ i k ə s , ˈ p ɪ θ ɪ k ə s , d ʒ ɪ -/ jy-gan-toh-pi-thee-kuhs, pith-i-kuhs, ji- ; lit. ' giant ape ' ) is an extinct genus of ape that lived in southern China from 2 million to approximately 300,000-200,000 years ago during the Early to Middle Pleistocene , represented by one species, Gigantopithecus blacki . Potential identifications have also been made in Thailand , Vietnam , and Indonesia . The first remains of Gigantopithecus , two third molar teeth , were identified in
358-438: A food chain who lose their prey. "Species coextinction is a manifestation of one of the interconnectednesses of organisms in complex ecosystems ... While coextinction may not be the most important cause of species extinctions, it is certainly an insidious one." Coextinction is especially common when a keystone species goes extinct. Models suggest that coextinction is the most common form of biodiversity loss . There may be
537-669: A nautilus to the Royal Society that was more than two feet in diameter, and morphologically distinct from any known living species. Hooke theorized that this was simply because the species lived in the deep ocean and no one had discovered them yet. While he contended that it was possible a species could be "lost", he thought this highly unlikely. Similarly, in 1695, Sir Thomas Molyneux published an account of enormous antlers found in Ireland that did not belong to any extant taxa in that area. Molyneux reasoned that they came from
716-415: A species or a population is the variety of genetic information in its living members. A large gene pool (extensive genetic diversity ) is associated with robust populations that can survive bouts of intense selection . Meanwhile, low genetic diversity (see inbreeding and population bottlenecks ) reduces the range of adaptions possible. Replacing native with alien genes narrows genetic diversity within
895-436: A viable population for species preservation and possible future reintroduction to the wild, through use of carefully planned breeding programs . The extinction of one species' wild population can have knock-on effects, causing further extinctions. These are also called "chains of extinction". This is especially common with extinction of keystone species . A 2018 study indicated that the sixth mass extinction started in
1074-535: A "gem". As of May 2011, in order to promote TCM worldwide, China had signed TCM partnership agreements with over 70 countries. His government pushed to increase its use and the number of TCM-trained doctors and announced that students of TCM would no longer be required to pass examinations in Western medicine. Chinese scientists and researchers, however, expressed concern that TCM training and therapies would receive equal support with Western medicine. They also criticized
1253-479: A Lazarus species when extant individuals were described in 2019. Attenborough's long-beaked echidna ( Zaglossus attenboroughi ) is an example of a Lazarus species from Papua New Guinea that had last been sighted in 1962 and believed to be possibly extinct, until it was recorded again in November 2023. Some species currently thought to be extinct have had continued speculation that they may still exist, and in
1432-478: A body mass of 200–300 kg (440–660 lb), though conceded that it is impossible to obtain a reliable body mass estimate without more complete remains. The average maximum length of the upper canines for presumed males and females are 21.1 mm (0.83 in) and 15.4 mm (0.61 in), respectively, and Mandible III (presumed male) is 40% larger than Mandible I (presumed female). These imply sexual dimorphism , with males being larger than females. Such
1611-503: A cascade of coextinction across the trophic levels . Such effects are most severe in mutualistic and parasitic relationships. An example of coextinction is the Haast's eagle and the moa : the Haast's eagle was a predator that became extinct because its food source became extinct. The moa were several species of flightless birds that were a food source for the Haast's eagle. Extinction as
1790-540: A classificatory and mnemonic device to observe health problems and to reflect upon, store, and recover empirical knowledge," but they were also "subject to stultifying theoretical elaboration, self-deception, and dogmatism ." The doctrines of Chinese medicine are rooted in books such as the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon and the Treatise on Cold Damage , as well as in cosmological notions such as yin–yang and
1969-959: A common ancestor about 12–10 million years ago in the Middle to Late Miocene. Their last common ancestor would have been a part of the Miocene radiation of apes. The same study calculated a divergence time between the Ponginae and African great apes about 26–17.7 million years ago. Cladogram according to Zhang and Harrison, 2017: Hylobates (gibbons) [REDACTED] Oreopithecus Ouranopithecus Dryopithecus [REDACTED] Gorilla (gorillas) [REDACTED] Pan (chimpanzees) [REDACTED] Australopithecus and Homo (humans) [REDACTED] Gigantopithecus [REDACTED] Lufengpithecus Ankarapithecus Sivapithecus Pongo (orangutans) [REDACTED] In 1969, an 8.6 million year old mandible from
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#17327650362342148-429: A common ancestor with modern horses. Pseudoextinction is much easier to demonstrate for larger taxonomic groups. A Lazarus taxon or Lazarus species refers to instances where a species or taxon was thought to be extinct, but was later rediscovered. It can also refer to instances where large gaps in the fossil record of a taxon result in fossils reappearing much later, although the taxon may have ultimately become extinct at
2327-467: A drugstore by anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald in 1935, who subsequently described the ape. In 1956, the first mandible and more than 1,000 teeth were found in Liucheng , and numerous more remains have since been found in at least 16 sites. Only teeth and four mandibles are known currently, and other skeletal elements were likely consumed by porcupines before they could fossilise. Gigantopithecus
2506-399: A fact that was accepted by most scientists. The primary debate focused on whether this turnover caused by extinction was gradual or abrupt in nature. Cuvier understood extinction to be the result of cataclysmic events that wipe out huge numbers of species, as opposed to the gradual decline of a species over time. His catastrophic view of the nature of extinction garnered him many opponents in
2685-459: A few teeth coexisted with Gigantopithecus , which in 2019 was identified as the closely related Meganthropus . Longgudong Cave may have represented a transitional zone between the Palaearctic and Oriental realms, featuring, alongside the typical Gigantopithecus fauna, more boreal animals such as hedgehogs , hyenas , horses , the bovid Leptobos , and pikas . Over the course of
2864-449: A high cavity rate of 11%, which could mean fruit was commonly included in its diet. The molars from Gigantopithecus Cave frequently exhibit pitting enamel hypoplasia , where the enamel improperly forms with pits and grooves. This can be caused by malnutrition during growth years, which could point to periodic food shortages, though it can also be induced by other factors. Specimen PA1601-1 from Yanliang Cave shows evidence of tooth loss of
3043-546: A high degree of dimorphism is only surpassed by gorillas among modern apes in canine size, and is surpassed by none for mandibular disparity. Like other apes, Gigantopithecus had a dental formula of 2.1.2.3 2.1.2.3 , with two incisors , one canine, two premolars, and three molars in each half of the jaw for both jaws. The canines, due to a lack of honing facets (which keep them sharp) and their overall stoutness, have been suggested to have functioned like premolars and molars (cheek teeth). Like other apes with enlarged molars,
3222-708: A higher risk of extinction and die out faster than less sexually dimorphic species, the least sexually dimorphic species surviving for millions of years while the most sexually dimorphic species die out within mere thousands of years. Earlier studies based on counting the number of currently living species in modern taxa have shown a higher number of species in more sexually dimorphic taxa which have been interpreted as higher survival in taxa with more sexual selection, but such studies of modern species only measure indirect effects of extinction and are subject to error sources such as dying and doomed taxa speciating more due to splitting of habitat ranges into more small isolated groups during
3401-405: A large range, a lack of individuals of both sexes (in sexually reproducing species), or other reasons. Pinpointing the extinction (or pseudoextinction ) of a species requires a clear definition of that species . If it is to be declared extinct, the species in question must be uniquely distinguishable from any ancestor or daughter species, and from any other closely related species. Extinction of
3580-538: A largely 20th century invention. In the early twentieth century, Chinese cultural and political modernizers worked to eliminate traditional practices as backward and unscientific. Traditional practitioners then selected elements of philosophy and practice and organized them into what they called "Chinese medicine" (Chinese: 中医 Zhongyi ). In the 1950s, the Chinese government sought to revive traditional medicine (including legalizing previously banned practices) and sponsored
3759-607: A later point. The coelacanth , a fish related to lungfish and tetrapods , is an example of a Lazarus taxon that was known only from the fossil record and was considered to have been extinct since the end of the Cretaceous Period . In 1938, however, a living specimen was found off the Chalumna River (now Tyolomnqa) on the east coast of South Africa. Calliostoma bullatum , a species of deepwater sea snail originally described from fossils in 1844 proved to be
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#17327650362343938-402: A less level (more crenulated) outer enamel surface due to the presence of secondary crests emanating from the paracone and protocone on the side of the molar closer to the midline (medially), as well as sharper major crests. That is, the teeth are not as flat. In 1957, based on hoofed animal remains in a cave located in a seemingly inaccessible mountain, Pei had believed that Gigantopithecus
4117-507: A lineage from Gigantopithecus , to the Javan ape Meganthropus (then considered a human ancestor), to " Pithecanthropus ", to " Javanthropus ", and finally Aboriginal Australians . This was part of his multiregional hypothesis , that all modern races and ethnicities evolved independently from a local archaic human species, rather than sharing a more recent and fully modern common ancestor. In 1952, von Koenigswald agreed that Gigantopithecus
4296-594: A mathematical model that falls in all positions. By contrast, conservation biology uses the extinction vortex model to classify extinctions by cause. When concerns about human extinction have been raised, for example in Sir Martin Rees ' 2003 book Our Final Hour , those concerns lie with the effects of climate change or technological disaster. Human-driven extinction started as humans migrated out of Africa more than 60,000 years ago. Currently, environmental groups and some governments are concerned with
4475-539: A mixed deciduous and evergreen forest dominated by birch , oak , and chinkapin , as well as several low-lying herbs and ferns . The " Gigantopithecus fauna ", one of the most important mammalian faunal groups of the Early Pleistocene of southern China, includes tropical or subtropical forest species. This group has been subdivided into three stages spanning 2.6–1.8 million years ago, 1.8–1.2 million years ago, and 1.2–0.8 million years ago. The early stage
4654-456: A natural part of the evolutionary process. Only recently have extinctions been recorded and scientists have become alarmed at the current high rate of extinctions . Most species that become extinct are never scientifically documented. Some scientists estimate that up to half of presently existing plant and animal species may become extinct by 2100. A 2018 report indicated that the phylogenetic diversity of 300 mammalian species erased during
4833-441: A new mega-predator or by transporting animals and plants from one part of the world to another. Such introductions have been occurring for thousands of years, sometimes intentionally (e.g. livestock released by sailors on islands as a future source of food) and sometimes accidentally (e.g. rats escaping from boats). In most cases, the introductions are unsuccessful, but when an invasive alien species does become established,
5012-610: A population a higher chance in the short term of surviving an adverse change in conditions. Effects that cause or reward a loss in genetic diversity can increase the chances of extinction of a species. Population bottlenecks can dramatically reduce genetic diversity by severely limiting the number of reproducing individuals and make inbreeding more frequent. Extinction sometimes results for species evolved to specific ecologies that are subjected to genetic pollution —i.e., uncontrolled hybridization , introgression and genetic swamping that lead to homogenization or out-competition from
5191-407: A race of animals to become extinct. A series of fossils were discovered in the late 17th century that appeared unlike any living species. As a result, the scientific community embarked on a voyage of creative rationalization, seeking to understand what had happened to these species within a framework that did not account for total extinction. In October 1686, Robert Hooke presented an impression of
5370-502: A reduction in agricultural productivity. Furthermore, increased erosion contributes to poorer water quality by elevating the levels of sediment and pollutants in rivers and streams. Habitat degradation through toxicity can kill off a species very rapidly, by killing all living members through contamination or sterilizing them. It can also occur over longer periods at lower toxicity levels by affecting life span, reproductive capacity, or competitiveness. Habitat degradation can also take
5549-418: A reduction in government testing and regulation of the production of TCMs, some of which were toxic. Government censors have removed Internet posts that question TCM. In 2020 Beijing drafted a local regulation outlawing criticism of TCM. According to Caixin , the regulation was later passed with the provision outlawing criticism of TCM removed. At the beginning of Hong Kong 's opening up, Western medicine
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5728-499: A result of climate change has been confirmed by fossil studies. Particularly, the extinction of amphibians during the Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse , 305 million years ago. A 2003 review across 14 biodiversity research centers predicted that, because of climate change, 15–37% of land species would be "committed to extinction" by 2050. The ecologically rich areas that would potentially suffer
5907-492: A similarly generalist diet . The molar-like premolars, large molars, and long rooted cheeked teeth could point to chewing, crushing, and grinding of bulky and fibrous materials. Thick enamel would suggest a diet of abrasive items, such as dirt particles on food gathered near or on the ground (like bamboo shoots ). Similarly, oxygen isotope analysis suggests Gigantopithecus consumed more low-lying plants such as stems, roots, and grasses than orangutans. Dental calculus indicates
6086-479: A species (or replacement by a daughter species) plays a key role in the punctuated equilibrium hypothesis of Stephen Jay Gould and Niles Eldredge . In ecology , extinction is sometimes used informally to refer to local extinction , in which a species ceases to exist in the chosen area of study, despite still existing elsewhere. Local extinctions may be made good by the reintroduction of individuals of that species taken from other locations; wolf reintroduction
6265-439: A species may come suddenly when an otherwise healthy species is wiped out completely, as when toxic pollution renders its entire habitat unliveable; or may occur gradually over thousands or millions of years, such as when a species gradually loses out in competition for food to better adapted competitors. Extinction may occur a long time after the events that set it in motion, a phenomenon known as extinction debt . Assessing
6444-404: A species or group of species. "Just as each species is unique", write Beverly and Stephen C. Stearns , "so is each extinction ... the causes for each are varied—some subtle and complex, others obvious and simple". Most simply, any species that cannot survive and reproduce in its environment and cannot move to a new environment where it can do so, dies out and becomes extinct. Extinction of
6623-518: A subsequent report, IPBES listed unsustainable fishing, hunting and logging as being some of the primary drivers of the global extinction crisis. In June 2019, one million species of plants and animals were at risk of extinction. At least 571 plant species have been lost since 1750, but likely many more. The main cause of the extinctions is the destruction of natural habitats by human activities, such as cutting down forests and converting land into fields for farming. A dagger symbol (†) placed next to
6802-504: A symbol of the Cultural Revolution, for the introduction of modern medicine into villages where traditional Chinese medicine services were used. The State Intellectual Property Office (now known as CNIPA ) established a database of patents granted for traditional Chinese medicine. In the second decade of the twenty-first century, Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping strongly supported TCM, calling it
6981-648: A third molar and premolar , in a cave (subsequently named " Gigantopithecus Cave") in Niusui Mountain , Guangxi. Also in 1956, Liucheng farmer Xiuhuai Qin discovered more teeth and the first mandible on his field. From 1957 to 1963, the IVPP survey team carried out excavations in this area and recovered two more mandibles and more than 1,000 teeth. Confirmed Gigantopithecus remains have since been found in 16 different sites across southern China. The northernmost sites are Longgupo and Longgudong , just south of
7160-518: A tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine , acupuncture, massage ( tui na ), exercise ( qigong ), and dietary therapy. It is primarily used as a complementary alternative medicine approach. TCM is widely used in China and it is also used in the West. Its philosophy is based on Yinyangism (i.e., the combination of Five Phases theory with Yin–Yang theory), which
7339-435: Is about 40% heavier than the average male gorilla. In 1979, American anthropologist Alfred E. Johnson Jr. used the dimensions of gorillas to estimate a femur length of 54.4 cm (1 ft 9 in) and humerus length of 62.7 cm (2 ft 1 in) for Gigantopithecus , about 20–25% longer than those of gorillas. In 2017, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Yingqi Zhang and American anthropologist Terry Harrison suggested
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7518-468: Is also called "Eighty-One Nan". The book is based on basic theory and has also analyzed some disease certificates. Questions one to twenty-two is about pulse study, questions twenty-three to twenty-nine is about meridian study, questions thirty to forty-seven is related to urgent illnesses, questions forty-eight to sixty-one is related to serious diseases, questions sixty-two to sixty-eight is related to acupuncture points, and questions sixty-nine to eighty-one
7697-558: Is also cited to be another major environmental force in the Middle Pleistocene of China. Stratigraphic evidence suggests that it contracted severely in range from the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, and Hainan to just the Guangxi region by 420–330 ka. The population of the giant ape dwindled further by 300 ka as a response to its declining forest refugia resulting from grassland expansion. The extinction window of Gigantopithecus
7876-523: Is also evidence to suggest that this event was preceded by another mass extinction, known as Olson's Extinction . The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (K–Pg) occurred 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period; it is best known for having wiped out non-avian dinosaurs , among many other species. According to a 1998 survey of 400 biologists conducted by New York 's American Museum of Natural History , nearly 70% believed that
8055-541: Is also true the other way around, a point easily overlooked." TJ Hinrichs observes that people in modern Western societies divide healing practices into biomedicine for the body, psychology for the mind, and religion for the spirit, but these distinctions are inadequate to describe medical concepts among Chinese historically and to a considerable degree today. The medical anthropologist Charles Leslie writes that Chinese, Greco-Arabic, and Indian traditional medicines were all grounded in systems of correspondence that aligned
8234-444: Is an example of this. Species that are not globally extinct are termed extant . Those species that are extant, yet are threatened with extinction, are referred to as threatened or endangered species . Currently, an important aspect of extinction is human attempts to preserve critically endangered species. These are reflected by the creation of the conservation status "extinct in the wild" (EW) . Species listed under this status by
8413-689: Is called "Traditional Chinese Medicine" and practiced today in China and the West is not thousands of years old, but recently constructed using selected traditional terms, some of which have been taken out of context, some badly misunderstood. He has criticized Chinese and Western popular books for selective use of evidence , choosing only those works or parts of historical works that seem to lead to modern medicine, ignoring those elements that do not now seem to be effective. Critics say that TCM theory and practice have no basis in modern science , and TCM practitioners do not agree on what diagnosis and treatments should be used for any given person. A 2007 editorial in
8592-494: Is characterised by more ancient Neogene animals such as the gomphotheriid proboscidean (relative of elephants) Sinomastodon , the chalicothere Hesperotherium , the suid Hippopotamodon , the tragulid Dorcabune , and the deer Cervavitus . The middle stage is indicated by the appearance of the panda Ailuropoda wulingshanensis , the dhole Cuon antiquus , and the tapir Tapirus sinensis . The late stage features more typical Middle Pleistocene animals such as
8771-572: Is currently no evidence that the Shang nobility used herbal remedies. Stone and bone needles found in ancient tombs led Joseph Needham to speculate that acupuncture might have been carried out in the Shang dynasty. This being said, most historians now make a distinction between medical lancing (or bloodletting ) and acupuncture in the narrower sense of using metal needles to attempt to treat illnesses by stimulating points along circulation channels ("meridians") in accordance with beliefs related to
8950-585: Is difficult to demonstrate unless one has a strong chain of evidence linking a living species to members of a pre-existing species. For example, it is sometimes claimed that the extinct Hyracotherium , which was an early horse that shares a common ancestor with the modern horse , is pseudoextinct, rather than extinct, because there are several extant species of Equus , including zebra and donkey ; however, as fossil species typically leave no genetic material behind, one cannot say whether Hyracotherium evolved into more modern horse species or merely evolved from
9129-417: Is estimated as 100 to 1,000 times "background" rates (the average extinction rates in the evolutionary time scale of planet Earth), faster than at any other time in human history, while future rates are likely 10,000 times higher. However, some groups are going extinct much faster. Biologists Paul R. Ehrlich and Stuart Pimm , among others, contend that human population growth and overconsumption are
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#17327650362349308-534: Is estimated to be between 295,000 to 215,000 years ago in correlation with increased seasonality and major environmental turnovers. Savannas remained the dominant habitat of Southeast Asia until the Late Pleistocene . The extinction of the specialized Gigantopithecus and survival of Pongo weidenreichi plus Homo in the Middle Pleistocene is thought to have been the result of the former having struggled to adapt to major environmental changes compared to
9487-474: Is most closely allied to the Chinese Lufengpithecus , which went extinct 4 million years prior to Gigantopithecus . In 2019, peptide sequencing of dentine and enamel proteins of a Gigantopithecus molar from Chuifeng Cave indicates that Gigantopithecus was indeed closely allied with orangutans, and, assuming the current mutation rate in orangutans has remained constant, shared
9666-537: Is one of the earliest written medical books in China. Written during the Eastern Han dynasty between 200 and 250 CE, it was the combined effort of practitioners in the Qin and Han dynasties who summarized, collected and compiled the results of pharmacological experience during their time periods. It was the first systematic summary of Chinese herbal medicine. Most of the pharmacological theories and compatibility rules and
9845-454: Is related to the needlepoint methods. The book is credited as developing its own path, while also inheriting the theories from Huangdi Neijing. The content includes physiology, pathology, diagnosis, treatment contents, and a more essential and specific discussion of pulse diagnosis. It has become one of the four classics for Chinese medicine practitioners to learn from and has impacted the medical development in China. Shennong Ben Cao Jing
10024-515: Is seen in only baby teeth for modern apes. Protein sequencing of Gigantopithecus enamel identified alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG), which, in modern apes, is important in bone and dentine mineralisation. Because it was found in enamel, and not dentine, AHSG may have been an additional component in Gigantopithecus which facilitated biomineralisation of enamel during prolonged amelogenesis (enamel growth). Gigantopithecus molars have
10203-533: Is taken into account. Gigantopithecus appears to have been a generalist herbivore of C 3 forest plants, with the jaw adapted to grinding, crushing, and cutting through tough, fibrous plants, and the thick enamel functioning to resist foods with abrasive particles such as stems, roots, and tubers with dirt. Some teeth bear traces of fig family fruits, which may have been important dietary components. It primarily lived in subtropical to tropical forest, and went extinct about 300,000 years ago likely because of
10382-592: Is the destruction of ocean floors by bottom trawling . Diminished resources or introduction of new competitor species also often accompany habitat degradation. Global warming has allowed some species to expand their range, bringing competition to other species that previously occupied that area. Sometimes these new competitors are predators and directly affect prey species, while at other times they may merely outcompete vulnerable species for limited resources. Vital resources including water and food can also be limited during habitat degradation, leading to extinction. In
10561-525: Is the most important determinant of genus extinction at background rates but becomes increasingly irrelevant as mass extinction arises. Limited geographic range is a cause both of small population size and of greater vulnerability to local environmental catastrophes. Extinction rates can be affected not just by population size, but by any factor that affects evolvability , including balancing selection , cryptic genetic variation , phenotypic plasticity , and robustness . A diverse or deep gene pool gives
10740-457: Is the termination of a taxon by the death of its last member . A taxon may become functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to reproduce and recover. Because a species' potential range may be very large, determining this moment is difficult, and is usually done retrospectively. This difficulty leads to phenomena such as Lazarus taxa , where a species presumed extinct abruptly "reappears" (typically in
10919-511: Is widely used in the Sinosphere . One of the basic tenets is that the body's qi is circulating through channels called meridians having branches connected to bodily organs and functions. There is no evidence that meridians or vital energy exist. Concepts of the body and of disease used in TCM reflect its ancient origins and its emphasis on dynamic processes over material structure, similar to
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#173276503623411098-657: The Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and the Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Casket , which were edited separately in the eleventh century, under the Song dynasty . Nanjing or "Classic of Difficult Issues", originally called "The Yellow Emperor Eighty-one Nan Jing", ascribed to Bian Que in the eastern Han dynasty . This book was compiled in the form of question-and-answer explanations. A total of 81 questions have been discussed. Therefore, it
11277-537: The Gigantopithecus molar had a large and flat (tabular) grinding surface, with an even enamel coating, and short dentine horns (the areas of the dentine layer which project upwards into the top enamel layer). The molars are the most hypsodont (where the enamel extends beyond the gums) of any ape. Gigantopithecus is considered to have been a herbivore . Carbon-13 isotope analysis suggests consumption of C 3 plants , such as fruits, leaves, and other forest plants. The robust mandible of Gigantopithecus indicates it
11456-622: The Inner Canon and developed a complete medical system centered on needling therapy. The AB Canon of Acupuncture and Moxibustion ( Zhenjiu jiayi jing 針灸甲乙經 , compiled by Huangfu Mi sometime between 256 and 282 CE) assembled a consistent body of doctrines concerning acupuncture; whereas the Canon of the Pulse ( Maijing 脈經 ; c. 280) presented itself as a "comprehensive handbook of diagnostics and therapy." Around 900–1000 AD, Chinese were
11635-483: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are not known to have any living specimens in the wild and are maintained only in zoos or other artificial environments. Some of these species are functionally extinct, as they are no longer part of their natural habitat and it is unlikely the species will ever be restored to the wild. When possible, modern zoological institutions try to maintain
11814-419: The Late Pleistocene could take up to 5 to 7 million years to restore mammal diversity to what it was before the human era. Extinction of a parent species where daughter species or subspecies are still extant is called pseudoextinction or phyletic extinction. Effectively, the old taxon vanishes, transformed ( anagenesis ) into a successor, or split into more than one ( cladogenesis ). Pseudoextinction
11993-594: The Sivalik Hills in northern India was classified as " G. bilaspurensis " by palaeontologists Elwyn L. Simons and Shiv Raj Kumar Chopra [ de ] , who believed it was the ancestor of G. blacki . This bore resemblance to a molar discovered in 1915 in the Pakistani Pothohar Plateau then classified as " Dryopithecus giganteus ". Von Koenigswald reclassified " D. giganteus " in 1950 into its own genus, Indopithecus , but this
12172-630: The Tung Wah Hospital was established in Hong Kong in 1869 based on the widespread rejection of Western medicine for pre-existing medical practices, although Western medicine would still be practiced in the hospital alongside Chinese medicinal practices. The Tung Wah Hospital was likely connected to another Chinese medical institution, the Kwong Wai Shiu Hospital of Singapore, which had previous community links to Tung Wah,
12351-727: The Yangtze River , and southernmost on Hainan Island in the South China Sea . An isolated canine from Thẩm Khuyên Cave , Vietnam, and a fourth premolar from Pha Bong , Thailand, could possibly be assigned to Gigantopithecus , though these could also represent the extinct orangutan Pongo weidenreichi . Two mandibular fragments each preserving the last two molars from Semono in Central Java , Indonesia, described in 2016 could represent Gigantopithecus . The oldest remains date to 2 million years ago from Baikong Cave , and
12530-559: The five phases . The "Documentation of Chinese materia medica" (CMM) dates back to around 1,100 BCE when only a few dozen drugs were described. By the end of the 16th century, the number of drugs documented had reached close to 1,900. And by the end of the last century, published records of CMM had reached 12,800 drugs." Starting in the 1950s, these precepts were standardized in the People's Republic of China, including attempts to integrate them with modern notions of anatomy and pathology . In
12709-616: The fossil record ) after a period of apparent absence. More than 99% of all species that ever lived on Earth , amounting to over five billion species, are estimated to have died out. It is estimated that there are currently around 8.7 million species of eukaryotes globally, and possibly many times more if microorganisms , like bacteria , are included. Notable extinct animal species include non-avian dinosaurs , saber-toothed cats , dodos , mammoths , ground sloths , thylacines , trilobites , golden toads , and passenger pigeons . Through evolution , species arise through
12888-405: The humoral theory of ancient Greece and ancient Rome . The demand for traditional medicines in China was a major generator of illegal wildlife smuggling , linked to the killing and smuggling of endangered animals . However, Chinese authorities have in recent years cracked down on illegal wildlife smuggling, and the industry has increasingly turned to cultivated alternatives. Scholars in
13067-413: The last common ancestor of humans and other apes. In 1946, Jewish German anthropologist Franz Weidenreich described Gigantopithecus as a human ancestor as " Gigantanthropus ", believing that the human lineage went through a gigantic phase. He stated that the teeth are more similar to those of modern humans and Homo erectus (at the time " Pithecanthropus " for early Javan specimens ), and envisioned
13246-418: The orangutans . However, there are few similar traits ( synapomorphies ) linking Gigantopithecus and orangutans due to fragmentary remains, with the main morphological argument being its close affinities to Sivapithecus , which is better established as a pongine based on skull features. In 2017, Chinese palaeoanthropologist Yingqi Zhang and American anthropologist Terry Harrison suggested that Gigantopithecus
13425-410: The slender-billed curlew ( Numenius tenuirostris ), not seen since 2007. As long as species have been evolving, species have been going extinct. It is estimated that over 99.9% of all species that ever lived are extinct. The average lifespan of a species is 1–10 million years, although this varies widely between taxa. A variety of causes can contribute directly or indirectly to the extinction of
13604-488: The strata of the Paris basin. They saw alternating saltwater and freshwater deposits, as well as patterns of the appearance and disappearance of fossils throughout the record. From these patterns, Cuvier inferred historic cycles of catastrophic flooding, extinction, and repopulation of the earth with new species. Cuvier's fossil evidence showed that very different life forms existed in the past than those that exist today,
13783-570: The 1950s, the Chinese government promoted a systematized form of TCM. Traces of therapeutic activities in China date from the Shang dynasty (14th–11th centuries BCE). Though the Shang did not have a concept of "medicine" as distinct from other health practices, their oracular inscriptions on bones and tortoise shells refer to illnesses that affected the Shang royal family: eye disorders, toothaches, bloated abdomen, and such. Shang elites usually attributed them to curses sent by their ancestors. There
13962-554: The 1970s from the Mawangdui tomb that had been sealed in 168 BCE, the Inner Canon rejected the influence of spirits and the use of magic. It was also one of the first books in which the cosmological doctrines of Yinyang and the Five Phases were brought to a mature synthesis. The Treatise on Cold Damage Disorders and Miscellaneous Illnesses (Shang Han Lun) was collated by Zhang Zhongjing sometime between 196 and 220 CE; at
14141-639: The 20 biodiversity goals laid out by the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010, only 6 were "partially achieved" by the deadline of 2020. The report warned that biodiversity will continue to decline if the status quo is not changed, in particular the "currently unsustainable patterns of production and consumption, population growth and technological developments". In a 2021 report published in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science , some top scientists asserted that even if
14320-451: The Aichi Biodiversity Targets set for 2020 had been achieved, it would not have resulted in a significant mitigation of biodiversity loss. They added that failure of the global community to reach these targets is hardly surprising given that biodiversity loss is "nowhere close to the top of any country's priorities, trailing far behind other concerns such as employment, healthcare, economic growth, or currency stability." For much of history,
14499-460: The Chinese philosopher Zhang Gongyao triggered a national debate with an article entitled "Farewell to Traditional Chinese Medicine", arguing that TCM was a pseudoscience that should be abolished in public healthcare and academia. The Chinese government took the stance that TCM is a science and continued to encourage its development. There are concerns over a number of potentially toxic plants, animal parts, and mineral Chinese compounds, as well as
14678-618: The Earth is currently in the early stages of a human-caused mass extinction, known as the Holocene extinction . In that survey, the same proportion of respondents agreed with the prediction that up to 20% of all living populations could become extinct within 30 years (by 2028). A 2014 special edition of Science declared there is widespread consensus on the issue of human-driven mass species extinctions. A 2020 study published in PNAS stated that
14857-576: The Five Phase theory, were used to explain health and disease in texts such as Huangdi neijing . Yin and yang are the changing factors in cosmology, with qi as the vital force or energy of life. The Five Phase theory ( Wuxing ) of the Han dynasty contains the elements wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. By understanding medicine from a cosmology perspective, historians better understand Chinese medical and social classifications such as gender, which
15036-716: The History of Medicine . Ian Johnson says, on the other hand, that the English-language term "traditional Chinese medicine" was coined by "party propagandists" in 1955. Nathan Sivin criticizes attempts to treat medicine and medical practices in traditional China as if they were a single system. Instead, he says, there were 2,000 years of "medical system in turmoil" and speaks of a "myth of an unchanging medical tradition". He urges that "Traditional medicine translated purely into terms of modern medicine becomes partly nonsensical, partly irrelevant, and partly mistaken; that
15215-584: The North American moose and that the animal had once been common on the British Isles . Rather than suggest that this indicated the possibility of species going extinct, he argued that although organisms could become locally extinct, they could never be entirely lost and would continue to exist in some unknown region of the globe. The antlers were later confirmed to be from the extinct deer Megaloceros . Hooke and Molyneux's line of thinking
15394-522: The Paris basin, could be formed by a slow rise and fall of sea levels . The concept of extinction was integral to Charles Darwin 's On the Origin of Species , with less fit lineages disappearing over time. For Darwin, extinction was a constant side effect of competition . Because of the wide reach of On the Origin of Species , it was widely accepted that extinction occurred gradually and evenly (a concept now referred to as background extinction ). It
15573-561: The Pleistocene, the environment-specialized Gigantopithecus showed signs of dietary changes based on dental morphologies in response to ecological pressure. Other hominids coexistent with it show few major morphological changes in comparison. In the late Middle Pleistocene and early Middle Pleistocene, global trends indicate strong glaciation cycles, colder and/or wetter climates, increased seasonality, and decline in C 4 plant abundance. Intensified winter and summer monsoon strength
15752-577: The United States government, to force the removal of Native Americans , many of whom relied on the bison for food. Traditional Chinese medicine Model humanity: Main philosophical traditions: Ritual traditions: Devotional traditions: Salvation churches and sects : Confucian churches and sects: Traditional Chinese medicine ( TCM ) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific , with
15931-429: The accumulation of slightly deleterious mutations , then a population will go extinct. Smaller populations have fewer beneficial mutations entering the population each generation, slowing adaptation. It is also easier for slightly deleterious mutations to fix in small populations; the resulting positive feedback loop between small population size and low fitness can cause mutational meltdown . Limited geographic range
16110-487: The basic tenets of TCM is that the body's qi (sometimes translated as vital energy ) is circulating through channels called meridians having branches connected to bodily organs and functions. The concept of vital energy is pseudoscientific. Concepts of the body and of disease used in TCM reflect its ancient origins and its emphasis on dynamic processes over material structure, similar to Classical humoral theory . TCM has also been controversial within China. In 2006,
16289-416: The biggest of any known ape. Teeth continually evolved to become larger and larger. The premolars are high-crowned, and the lower have two tooth roots, whereas the upper have three. The lower molars are low-crowned, long and narrow, and waist at the midline—which is more pronounced in the lower molars—with low-lying and bulbous cusps and rounded-off crests. The tooth enamel on the molars is in absolute measure
16468-420: The canines appear to have functioned like cheek teeth ( premolars and molars). The premolars are high- crowned , and the fourth premolar is very molar-like. The molars are the largest of any known ape, and have a relatively flat surface. Gigantopithecus had the thickest enamel by absolute measure of any ape, up to 6 mm (a quarter of an inch) in some areas, though this is only fairly thick when tooth size
16647-444: The case of postcanine megadontia hominins (small-bodied primate exhibiting massive molars and thick enamel). In 1946, Weidenreich hypothesised that Gigantopithecus was twice the size of male gorillas. In 1957, Pei estimated a total height of about 3.7 m (12 ft). In 1970, Simons and American palaeontologist Peter Ettel approximated a height of almost 2.7 m (9 ft) and a weight of up to 270 kg (600 lb), which
16826-457: The circulation of "Qi". The earliest evidence for acupuncture in this sense dates to the second or first century BCE. The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon ( Huangdi Neijing ) , the oldest received work of Chinese medical theory, was compiled during the Han dynasty around the first century BCE on the basis of shorter texts from different medical lineages. Written in the form of dialogues between
17005-603: The collection of the University of Utrecht . In 1955, a survey team that was led by Chinese palaeontologist Pei Wenzhong was tasked by the Chinese Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) with finding the original Gigantopithecus locality. They collected 47 teeth among shipments of "dragon bones" in Guangdong and Guangxi. In 1956, the team discovered the first in situ remains,
17184-730: The colonial and feudal past. The government established a grassroots health care system as a step in the search for a new national identity and tried to revitalize traditional medicine and made large investments in traditional medicine to try to develop affordable medical care and public health facilities. The Ministry of Health directed health care throughout China and established primary care units. Chinese physicians trained in Western medicine were required to learn traditional medicine, while traditional healers received training in modern methods. This strategy aimed to integrate modern medical concepts and methods and revitalize appropriate aspects of traditional medicine. Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine
17363-600: The consequences can be catastrophic. Invasive alien species can affect native species directly by eating them, competing with them, and introducing pathogens or parasites that sicken or kill them; or indirectly by destroying or degrading their habitat. Human populations may themselves act as invasive predators. According to the "overkill hypothesis", the swift extinction of the megafauna in areas such as Australia (40,000 years before present), North and South America (12,000 years before present), Madagascar , Hawaii (AD 300–1000), and New Zealand (AD 1300–1500), resulted from
17542-436: The consumption of tubers . Gigantopithecus does not appear to have consumed the commonplace savanna grasses ( C4 plants ). Nonetheless, in 1990, a few opal phytoliths adhering to four teeth from Gigantopithecus Cave were identified to have originated from grasses; though, the majority of phytoliths resemble the hairs of fig family fruits, which include figs , mulberry , breadfruit and banyan . This suggests that fruit
17721-418: The contemporary extinction crisis "may be the most serious environmental threat to the persistence of civilization, because it is irreversible." Biologist E. O. Wilson estimated in 2002 that if current rates of human destruction of the biosphere continue, one-half of all plant and animal species of life on earth will be extinct in 100 years. More significantly, the current rate of global species extinctions
17900-476: The deliberate destruction of some species, such as dangerous viruses , and the total destruction of other problematic species has been suggested. Other species were deliberately driven to extinction, or nearly so, due to poaching or because they were "undesirable", or to push for other human agendas. One example was the near extinction of the American bison , which was nearly wiped out by mass hunts sanctioned by
18079-505: The efficacy of any Traditional Medicine intervention." A 2012 review of cost-effectiveness research for TCM found that studies had low levels of evidence , with no beneficial outcomes. Pharmaceutical research on the potential for creating new drugs from traditional remedies has few successful results. Proponents suggest that research has so far missed key features of the art of TCM, such as unknown interactions between various ingredients and complex interactive biological systems. One of
18258-404: The enamel on the cusps to form (which is quite long), was estimated to have taken four years to form, which is within the range (albeit, far upper range) of what is exhibited in humans and chimpanzees. Like many other fossil apes, the rate of enamel formation near the enamel-dentine junction (dentine is the nerve-filled layer beneath the enamel) was estimated to begin at about four μm per day; this
18437-450: The end of the Han dynasty. Focusing on drug prescriptions rather than acupuncture, it was the first medical work to combine Yinyang and the Five Phases with drug therapy. This formulary was also the earliest public Chinese medical text to group symptoms into clinically useful "patterns" ( zheng 證 ) that could serve as targets for therapy. Having gone through numerous changes over time, the formulary now circulates as two distinct books:
18616-403: The endangered wild water buffalo is most threatened with extinction by genetic pollution from the abundant domestic water buffalo ). Such extinctions are not always apparent from morphological (non-genetic) observations. Some degree of gene flow is a normal evolutionary process; nevertheless, hybridization (with or without introgression) threatens rare species' existence. The gene pool of
18795-591: The event of rediscovery would be considered Lazarus species. Examples include the thylacine , or Tasmanian tiger ( Thylacinus cynocephalus ), the last known example of which died in Hobart Zoo in Tasmania in 1936; the Japanese wolf ( Canis lupus hodophilax ), last sighted over 100 years ago; the American ivory-billed woodpecker ( Campephilus principalis ), with the last universally accepted sighting in 1944; and
18974-482: The evidence for this is limited. Gigantopithecus has been used in cryptozoology circles as the identity of the Tibetan yeti or American bigfoot , apelike monsters in local folklore. This began in 1960 with zoologist Wladimir Tschernezky, briefly describing in the journal Nature a 1951 photograph of alleged yeti tracks taken by Himalayan mountaineers Michael Ward and Eric Shipton . Tschernezky concluded that
19153-443: The extinction crisis. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 784 extinctions have been recorded since the year 1500, the arbitrary date selected to define "recent" extinctions, up to the year 2004; with many more likely to have gone unnoticed. Several species have also been listed as extinct since 2004. If adaptation increasing population fitness is slower than environmental degradation plus
19332-399: The extinction of Gigantopithecus , so it is unclear if pressures such as competition over resources or overhunting were factors. Zhang et. al. in 2024 suggested that there is no evidence of any archaic hominin involvement in the early extinctions of the Pleistocene of southern China. Some authors have suggested that Gigantopithecus may have survived into the early Late Pleistocene , though
19511-475: The extinction of species caused by humanity, and they try to prevent further extinctions through a variety of conservation programs. Humans can cause extinction of a species through overharvesting , pollution , habitat destruction , introduction of invasive species (such as new predators and food competitors ), overhunting, and other influences. Explosive, unsustainable human population growth and increasing per capita consumption are essential drivers of
19690-466: The facilitation of disease. Trafficked and farm-raised animals used in TCM are a source of several fatal zoonotic diseases . There are additional concerns over the illegal trade and transport of endangered species including rhinoceroses and tigers, and the welfare of specially farmed animals, including bears. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a broad range of medicine practices sharing common concepts which have been developed in China and are based on
19869-540: The field of zoology , and biology in general, and has also become an area of concern outside the scientific community. A number of organizations, such as the Worldwide Fund for Nature , have been created with the goal of preserving species from extinction. Governments have attempted, through enacting laws, to avoid habitat destruction, agricultural over-harvesting, and pollution . While many human-caused extinctions have been accidental, humans have also engaged in
20048-433: The first to develop a form of vaccination, known as variolation or inoculation , to prevent smallpox . Chinese physicians had realised that when healthy people were exposed to smallpox scab tissue, they had a smaller chance of being infected by the disease later on. The common methods of inoculation at the time was through crushing smallpox scabs into powder and breathing it through the nose. Prominent medical scholars of
20227-435: The form of a physical destruction of niche habitats. The widespread destruction of tropical rainforests and replacement with open pastureland is widely cited as an example of this; elimination of the dense forest eliminated the infrastructure needed by many species to survive. For example, a fern that depends on dense shade for protection from direct sunlight can no longer survive without forest to shelter it. Another example
20406-580: The habitat retreat of taxa approaching extinction. Possible causes of the higher extinction risk in species with more sexual selection shown by the comprehensive fossil studies that rule out such error sources include expensive sexually selected ornaments having negative effects on the ability to survive natural selection , as well as sexual selection removing a diversity of genes that under current ecological conditions are neutral for natural selection but some of which may be important for surviving climate change. There have been at least five mass extinctions in
20585-484: The hard, enamel-capped crowns of teeth. This may explain why teeth are typically found in great quantity, and why remains other than teeth are so rare. In 1935, von Koenigswald considered Gigantopithecus to be closely allied with the Late Miocene Sivapithecus from India. In 1939, South African palaeontologist Robert Broom hypothesised that it was closely allied with Australopithecus and
20764-479: The healing strategies of the practitioner was unique every time to the specific diagnosis of the patient. Medical case studies existed throughout Chinese history, but "individually authored and published case history" was a prominent creation of the Ming dynasty. An example such case studies would be the literati physician, Cheng Congzhou, collection of 93 cases published in 1644. Historians of science have developed
20943-676: The heaviest losses include the Cape Floristic Region and the Caribbean Basin . These areas might see a doubling of present carbon dioxide levels and rising temperatures that could eliminate 56,000 plant and 3,700 animal species. Climate change has also been found to be a factor in habitat loss and desertification . Studies of fossils following species from the time they evolved to their extinction show that species with high sexual dimorphism , especially characteristics in males that are used to compete for mating, are at
21122-447: The history of life on earth, and four in the last 350 million years in which many species have disappeared in a relatively short period of geological time. A massive eruptive event that released large quantities of tephra particles into the atmosphere is considered to be one likely cause of the " Permian–Triassic extinction event " about 250 million years ago, which is estimated to have killed 90% of species then existing. There
21301-474: The history of medicine in China distinguish its doctrines and practice from those of present-day TCM. J. A. Jewell and S. M. Hillier state that the term "Traditional Chinese Medicine" became an established term due to the work of Dr. Kan-Wen Ma, a Western-trained medical doctor who was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and immigrated to Britain, joining the University of London's Wellcome Institute for
21480-470: The human body is opposed to the European duality of a separate mind and body. It is critical for scholars to understand the fundamental differences in concepts of the body in order to connect the medical theory of the classics to the "human organism" it is explaining. Chinese scholars established a correlation between the cosmos and the "human organism". The basic components of cosmology, qi, yin yang and
21659-475: The human era since the Late Pleistocene would require 5 to 7 million years to recover. According to the 2019 Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services by IPBES , the biomass of wild mammals has fallen by 82%, natural ecosystems have lost about half their area and a million species are at risk of extinction—all largely as a result of human actions. Twenty-five percent of plant and animal species are threatened with extinction. In
21838-435: The incisors of Gigantopithecus are reduced. Wearing on the tongue-side of the incisors (the lingual face), which can extend as far down as the tooth root , suggests an underbite . Overall mandibular anatomy and tooth wearing suggests a side-to-side movement of the jaw while chewing (lateral excursion). The incisors and canines have extremely long tooth roots, at least double the length of the tooth crown (the visible part of
22017-475: The integration of TCM and Western medicine, and in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s, promoted TCM as inexpensive and popular. The creation of modern TCM was largely spearheaded by Mao Zedong , despite the fact that, according to The Private Life of Chairman Mao , he did not believe in its effectiveness. After the opening of relations between the United States and China after 1972, there
22196-431: The introduced ( or hybrid ) species. Endemic populations can face such extinctions when new populations are imported or selectively bred by people, or when habitat modification brings previously isolated species into contact. Extinction is likeliest for rare species coming into contact with more abundant ones; interbreeding can swamp the rarer gene pool and create hybrids, depleting the purebred gene pool (for example,
22375-454: The journal Nature wrote that TCM "remains poorly researched and supported, and most of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action ." It also described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience ". A review of the literature in 2008 found that scientists are "still unable to find a shred of evidence" according to standards of science-based medicine for traditional Chinese concepts such as qi , meridians, and acupuncture points, and that
22554-449: The latter two. P. weidenreichi likely was more flexible in seasonal dietary habits whereas Homo was a generalist and therefore was able to adapt to mixed habitats stemming from Middle Pleistocene environmental changes. Some authors had suggested that H. erectus was a possible factor in the extinction of Gigantopithecus . Human activity in southern China is known as early as 800,000 years ago but does not become prevalent until after
22733-404: The legendary Yellow Emperor and his ministers, it offers explanations on the relation between humans, their environment, and the cosmos , on the contents of the body, on human vitality and pathology, on the symptoms of illness, and on how to make diagnostic and therapeutic decisions in light of all these factors. Unlike earlier texts like Recipes for Fifty-Two Ailments , which was excavated in
22912-488: The main drivers of the modern extinction crisis. In January 2020, the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity drafted a plan to mitigate the contemporary extinction crisis by establishing a deadline of 2030 to protect 30% of the Earth's land and oceans and reduce pollution by 50%, with the goal of allowing for the restoration of ecosystems by 2050. The 2020 United Nations ' Global Biodiversity Outlook report stated that of
23091-412: The majority of treatments having no robust evidence of effectiveness or logical mechanism of action . Medicine in traditional China encompassed a range of sometimes competing health and healing practices, folk beliefs , literati theory and Confucian philosophy , herbal remedies , food , diet, exercise, medical specializations, and schools of thought. TCM as it exists today has been described as
23270-421: The modern understanding of extinction as the end of a species was incompatible with the prevailing worldview. Prior to the 19th century, much of Western society adhered to the belief that the world was created by God and as such was complete and perfect. This concept reached its heyday in the 1700s with the peak popularity of a theological concept called the great chain of being , in which all life on earth, from
23449-490: The name of a species or other taxon normally indicates its status as extinct. Examples of species and subspecies that are extinct include: A species is extinct when the last existing member dies. Extinction therefore becomes a certainty when there are no surviving individuals that can reproduce and create a new generation. A species may become functionally extinct when only a handful of individuals survive, which cannot reproduce due to poor health, age, sparse distribution over
23628-469: The natural course of events, species become extinct for a number of reasons, including but not limited to: extinction of a necessary host, prey or pollinator, interspecific competition , inability to deal with evolving diseases and changing environmental conditions (particularly sudden changes) which can act to introduce novel predators, or to remove prey. Recently in geological time, humans have become an additional cause of extinction of some species, either as
23807-410: The newly emerging school of uniformitarianism . Jean-Baptiste Lamarck , a gradualist and colleague of Cuvier, saw the fossils of different life forms as evidence of the mutable character of species. While Lamarck did not deny the possibility of extinction, he believed that it was exceptional and rare and that most of the change in species over time was due to gradual change. Unlike Cuvier, Lamarck
23986-483: The organization of society, the universe, and the human body and other forms of life into an "all-embracing order of things". Each of these traditional systems was organized with such qualities as heat and cold, wet and dry, light and darkness, qualities that also align the seasons, compass directions, and the human cycle of birth, growth, and death. They provided, Leslie continued, a "comprehensive way of conceiving patterns that ran through all of nature," and they "served as
24165-399: The original population, thereby increasing the chance of extinction. Habitat degradation is currently the main anthropogenic cause of species extinctions. The main cause of habitat degradation worldwide is agriculture, with urban sprawl , logging, mining, and some fishing practices close behind. The degradation of a species' habitat may alter the fitness landscape to such an extent that
24344-463: The panda Ailuropoda baconi and the stegodontid proboscidean Stegodon . Other classic animals typically include orangutans, macaques , rhinos , the extinct pigs Sus xiaozhu and Sus peii , muntjac , Cervus (a deer), gaur (a cow), the bovid Megalovis , and more rarely the large saber-toothed cat Megantereon . In 2009, American palaeoanthropologist Russel Ciochon hypothesised an undescribed, chimp-sized ape he identified from
24523-486: The post-Han period included Tao Hongjing (456–536), Sun Simiao of the Sui and Tang dynasties, Zhang Jiegu ( c. 1151 –1234), and Li Shizhen (1518–1593). Chinese communities living in colonial port cities were influenced by the diverse cultures they encountered, which also led to evolving understandings of medical practices where Chinese forms of medicine were combined with Western medical knowledge. For example,
24702-579: The president of the Chinese Medical Association said that, "This One Medicine, will possess a basis in modern natural sciences, will have absorbed the ancient and the new, the Chinese and the foreign, all medical achievements – and will be China's New Medicine!" During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) the CCP and the government emphasized modernity, cultural identity and China's social and economic reconstruction and contrasted them to
24881-702: The process of speciation —where new varieties of organisms arise and thrive when they are able to find and exploit an ecological niche —and species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition . The relationship between animals and their ecological niches has been firmly established. A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years of its first appearance, although some species, called living fossils , survive with little to no morphological change for hundreds of millions of years. Mass extinctions are relatively rare events; however, isolated extinctions of species and clades are quite common, and are
25060-626: The proposed "seven emotions and harmony" principle have played a role in the practice of medicine for thousands of years. Therefore, it has been a textbook for medical workers in modern China. The full text of Shennong Ben Cao Jing in English can be found online. In the centuries that followed, several shorter books tried to summarize or systematize the contents of the Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon . The Canon of Problems (probably second century CE) tried to reconcile divergent doctrines from
25239-490: The relationships between the Five Phases in terms of sequence, of acting on each other, of counteraction, etc. All these aspects of Five Phases theory constitute the basis of the zàng-fǔ concept, and thus have great influence regarding the TCM model of the body. Five Phase theory is also applied in diagnosis and therapy. Correspondences between the body and the universe have historically not only been seen in terms of
25418-410: The relative importance of genetic factors compared to environmental ones as the causes of extinction has been compared to the debate on nature and nurture . The question of whether more extinctions in the fossil record have been caused by evolution or by competition or by predation or by disease or by catastrophe is a subject of discussion; Mark Newman, the author of Modeling Extinction , argues for
25597-496: The retreat of preferred habitat due to climate change, and potentially archaic human activity. Gigantopithecus has become popular in cryptozoology circles as the identity of the Tibetan yeti or the American bigfoot , apelike creatures in local folklore. Gigantopithecus blacki was named by anthropologist Ralph von Koenigswald in 1935 based on two third lower molar teeth , which, he noted, were of enormous size (the first
25776-402: The right second molar before the eruption of the neighboring third molar (which grew slantedly), which suggests this individual was able to survive for a long time despite impaired chewing abilities. The high levels of sexual dimorphism could indicate relatively intense male–male competition, though considering the upper canines only projected slightly farther than the cheek teeth, canine display
25955-460: The species is no longer able to survive and becomes extinct. This may occur by direct effects, such as the environment becoming toxic , or indirectly, by limiting a species' ability to compete effectively for diminished resources or against new competitor species. Habitat destruction, particularly the removal of vegetation that stabilizes soil, enhances erosion and diminishes nutrient availability in terrestrial ecosystems. This degradation can lead to
26134-433: The study of medicine in traditional China into a field with its own scholarly associations, journals, graduate programs, and debates with each other. Many distinguish "medicine in traditional China" from the recent traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which took elements from traditional texts and practices to construct a systematic body. Paul Unschuld, for instance, sees a "departure of TCM from its historical origins." What
26313-430: The sudden introduction of human beings to environments full of animals that had never seen them before and were therefore completely unadapted to their predation techniques. Coextinction refers to the loss of a species due to the extinction of another; for example, the extinction of parasitic insects following the loss of their hosts. Coextinction can also occur when a species loses its pollinator , or to predators in
26492-527: The teeth in a drugstore in Hong Kong where they were being sold as " dragon bones " to be used in traditional Chinese medicine . By 1939, after purchasing more teeth, he determined they had originated somewhere in Guangdong or Guangxi . He could not formally describe the type specimen until 1952 due to his internment by Japanese forces during World War II . The originally discovered teeth are part of
26671-429: The term 身 , and observing the history from the perspective of cosmology rather than biology. In Chinese classical texts, the term 身 is the closest historical translation to the English word "body" because it sometimes refers to the physical human body in terms of being weighed or measured, but the term is to be understood as an "ensemble of functions" encompassing both the human psyche and emotions. This concept of
26850-550: The thickest of any known ape, averaging 2.5–2.9 mm (0.098–0.114 in) in three different molars, and over 6 mm (0.24 in) on the tongue-side (lingual) cusps of an upper molar. This has attracted comparisons with the extinct Paranthropus hominins, which had extremely large molars and thick enamel for their size. However, in relation to the tooth's size, enamel thickness for Gigantopithecus overlaps with that of several other living and extinct apes. Like orangutans and potentially all pongines (though unlike African apes)
27029-440: The third molar (M) 20.3 mm × 17.3 mm (0.80 in × 0.68 in). In the lower jaw, P 3 averages 15.1 mm × 20.3 mm (0.59 in × 0.80 in), P 4 13.7 mm × 20.3 mm (0.54 in × 0.80 in), M 1/2 18.1 mm × 20.8 mm (0.71 in × 0.82 in), and M 3 16.9 mm × 19.6 mm (0.67 in × 0.77 in). The molars are
27208-412: The tiniest microorganism to God, is linked in a continuous chain. The extinction of a species was impossible under this model, as it would create gaps or missing links in the chain and destroy the natural order. Thomas Jefferson was a firm supporter of the great chain of being and an opponent of extinction, famously denying the extinction of the woolly mammoth on the grounds that nature never allows
27387-425: The tooth). These teeth were closely packed together. In the upper jaw, the first premolar (P) averages 20.3 mm × 15.2 mm (0.8 in × 0.6 in) in surface area, the second premolar (P) 15.2 mm × 16.4 mm (0.60 in × 0.65 in), the first and/or second molars (M, which are difficult to distinguish) 19.8 mm × 17.5 mm (0.78 in × 0.69 in), and
27566-567: The total extinction of the dodo and the extirpation of indigenous horses to the British Isles. He similarly argued against mass extinctions , believing that any extinction must be a gradual process. Lyell also showed that Cuvier's original interpretation of the Parisian strata was incorrect. Instead of the catastrophic floods inferred by Cuvier, Lyell demonstrated that patterns of saltwater and freshwater deposits , like those seen in
27745-511: The traditional principles of acupuncture are deeply flawed. "Acupuncture points and meridians are not a reality", the review continued, but "merely the product of an ancient Chinese philosophy". In June 2019, the World Health Organization included traditional Chinese medicine in a global diagnostic compendium, but a spokesman said this was "not an endorsement of the scientific validity of any Traditional Medicine practice or
27924-410: The universe can be divided into. Primordial analogies for these aspects are the sun-facing (yang) and the shady (yin) side of a hill. Two other commonly used representational allegories of yin and yang are water and fire. In the yin–yang theory , detailed attributions are made regarding the yin or yang character of things: The concept of yin and yang is also applicable to the human body; for example,
28103-633: The upper part of the body and the back are assigned to yang, while the lower part of the body is believed to have the yin character. Yin and yang characterization also extends to the various body functions, and – more importantly – to disease symptoms (e.g., cold and heat sensations are assumed to be yin and yang symptoms, respectively). Thus, yin and yang of the body are seen as phenomena whose lack (or over-abundance) comes with characteristic symptom combinations: TCM also identifies drugs believed to treat these specific symptom combinations, i.e., to reinforce yin and yang. Strict rules are identified to apply to
28282-581: The wider scientific community of his theory. Cuvier was a well-regarded geologist, lauded for his ability to reconstruct the anatomy of an unknown species from a few fragments of bone. His primary evidence for extinction came from mammoth skulls found in the Paris basin . Cuvier recognized them as distinct from any known living species of elephant, and argued that it was highly unlikely such an enormous animal would go undiscovered. In 1812, Cuvier, along with Alexandre Brongniart and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire , mapped
28461-471: The yeti walked like a human and was similar to Gigantopithecus . Subsequently, the yeti attracted short-lived scientific attention, with several more authors publishing in Nature and Science , but this also incited a popular monster hunting following for both the yeti and the similar American bigfoot which has persisted into the present day. The only scientist who continued trying to prove such monsters exist
28640-472: The youngest 380,000–310,000 years ago from Hei Cave . In 2014, a fourth confirmed mandible was discovered in Yanliang , Central China. Indicated by extensive rodent gnawing marks, teeth primarily accumulated in caves likely due to porcupine activity. Porcupines gnaw on bones to obtain nutrients necessary for quill growth, and can haul large bones into their underground dens and consume them entirely, except
28819-528: Was " Ein gewaltig grosser (...) Molar ", the second was described as " der enorme Grösse besitzt "), measuring 20 mm × 22 mm (0.79 in × 0.87 in). The specific name blacki is in honour of Canadian palaeoanthropologist Davidson Black , who had studied human evolution in China and had died the previous year. Von Koenigswald, working for the Dutch East Indies Mineralogical Survey on Java, had found
28998-584: Was a hominin , but believed it was an offshoot rather than a human ancestor. Much debate followed whether Gigantopithecus was a hominin or not for the next three decades until the Out of Africa hypothesis overturned the Out of Asia and multiregional hypotheses, firmly placing humanity's origins in Africa. Gigantopithecus is now classified in the subfamily Ponginae , closely allied with Sivapithecus and Indopithecus . This would make its closest living relatives
29177-730: Was a cave-dwelling predator and carried these animals in. This hypothesis is no longer considered viable because its dental anatomy is consistent with herbivory. In 1975, American palaeoanthropologist Tim D. White drew similarities between the jaws and dentition of Gigantopithecus and those of the giant panda , and suggested they both occupied the same niche as bamboo specialists. This garnered support from some subsequent researchers, but thicker enamel and hypsodonty in Gigantopithecus could suggest different functionality for these teeth. The species' reliance on barks and twigs for nutrition led to its demise. A Gigantopithecus permanent third molar, based on an approximate 600–800 days required for
29356-550: Was a significant dietary component for at least this population of Gigantopithecus . The 400,000–320,000 year old Middle Pleistocene teeth from Hejiang Cave in southeastern China (near the time of extinction) show some differences from Early Pleistocene material from other sites, which could potentially indicate that the Hejiang Gigantopithecus were a specialised form adapting to a changing environment with different food resources. The Hejiang teeth display
29535-398: Was anthropologist Grover Krantz , who continued pushing for a connection between Gigantopithecus and bigfoot from 1970 to his death in 2002. Among the binomial names he came up with for bigfoot included "Gigantopithecus canadensis". Scientists and amateur monster hunters both dismissed Krantz's arguments, saying he readily accepted clearly false evidence. Extinction Extinction
29714-408: Was capable of resisting high strains while chewing through tough or hard foods. However, the same mandibular anatomy is typically seen in modern apes which primarily eat soft leaves ( folivores ) or seeds ( granivores ). Gigantopithecus teeth have a markedly lower rate of pitting (caused by eating small, hard objects) than orangutans, more similar to the rate seen in chimpanzees , which could indicate
29893-522: Was changed again in 1979 to " G. giganteus " by American anthropologists Frederick Szalay and Eric Delson until Indopithecus was resurrected in 2003 by Australian anthropologist David W. Cameron . " G. bilaspurensis " is now considered a synonym of Indopithecus giganteus , leaving Gigantopithecus monotypic (with only one species), G. blacki . Total size estimates are highly speculative because only tooth and jaw elements are known, and molar size and total body weight do not always correlate, such as in
30072-633: Was defined by a domination or remission of yang in terms of yin. These two distinctions are imperative when analyzing the history of traditional Chinese medical science. A majority of Chinese medical history written after the classical canons comes in the form of primary source case studies where academic physicians record the illness of a particular person and the healing techniques used, as well as their effectiveness. Historians have noted that Chinese scholars wrote these studies instead of "books of prescriptions or advice manuals;" in their historical and environmental understanding, no two illnesses were alike so
30251-491: Was difficult to disprove. When parts of the world had not been thoroughly examined and charted, scientists could not rule out that animals found only in the fossil record were not simply "hiding" in unexplored regions of the Earth. Georges Cuvier is credited with establishing the modern conception of extinction in a 1796 lecture to the French Institute , though he would spend most of his career trying to convince
30430-580: Was established for similar reasons and also provided both Western and Chinese medical care. By 1935, English-language newspapers in Colonial Singapore already used the term "Traditional Chinese Medicine" to label Chinese ethnic medical practices. In 1950, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chairman Mao Zedong announced support of traditional Chinese medicine; this was despite the fact that Mao did not personally believe in and did not use TCM, according to his personal physician Li Zhisui . In 1952,
30609-519: Was great interest in the West for what is now called traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). TCM is said to be based on such texts as Huangdi Neijing (The Inner Canon of the Yellow Emperor), and Compendium of Materia Medica , a sixteenth-century encyclopedic work, and includes various forms of herbal medicine , acupuncture , cupping therapy , gua sha , massage (tui na) , bonesetter (die-da) , exercise (qigong) , and dietary therapy. TCM
30788-435: Was later absorbed by Daoism . Philosophical texts influenced TCM, mostly by being grounded in the same theories of qi , yin-yang and wuxing and microcosm-macrocosm analogies. Yin and yang are ancient Chinese deductive reasoning concepts used within Chinese medical diagnosis which can be traced back to the Shang dynasty (1600–1100 BCE). They represent two abstract and complementary aspects that every phenomenon in
30967-617: Was not regulated. The establishment in 1870 of the Tung Wah Hospital was the first use of Chinese medicine for the treatment in Chinese hospitals providing free medical services. As the promotion of Western medicine by the British government started from 1940, Western medicine started being popular among Hong Kong population. In 1959, Hong Kong had researched the use of traditional Chinese medicine to replace Western medicine. Historians have noted two key aspects of Chinese medical history: understanding conceptual differences when translating
31146-430: Was not until 1982, when David Raup and Jack Sepkoski published their seminal paper on mass extinctions, that Cuvier was vindicated and catastrophic extinction was accepted as an important mechanism . The current understanding of extinction is a synthesis of the cataclysmic extinction events proposed by Cuvier, and the background extinction events proposed by Lyell and Darwin. Extinction is an important research topic in
31325-437: Was not yet popular, and Western medicine doctors were mostly foreigners; local residents mostly relied on Chinese medicine practitioners. In 1841, the British government of Hong Kong issued an announcement pledging to govern Hong Kong residents in accordance with all the original rituals, customs and private legal property rights. As traditional Chinese medicine had always been used in China, the use of traditional Chinese medicine
31504-499: Was once argued to be a hominin , a member of the human line, but it is now thought to be closely allied with orangutans , classified in the subfamily Ponginae . Gigantopithecus has traditionally been restored as a massive, gorilla -like ape, potentially 200–300 kg (440–660 lb) when alive, but the paucity of remains make total size estimates highly speculative. The species may have been sexually dimorphic , with males much bigger than females. The incisors are reduced and
31683-533: Was probably not very important in agonistic behaviour, unlike modern non-human apes. Gigantopithecus remains are generally found in what were subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest in South China, except in Hainan which featured a tropical rainforest . Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis of Early Pleistocene enamel suggests Gigantopithecus inhabited dense, humid, closed-canopy forest. Queque Cave featured
31862-478: Was re-created in response to Western medicine. In 1968, the CCP supported a new system of health care delivery for rural areas. Villages were assigned a barefoot doctor (a medical staff with basic medical skills and knowledge to deal with minor illnesses) responsible for basic medical care. The medical staff combined the values of traditional China with modern methods to provide health and medical care to poor farmers in remote rural areas. The barefoot doctors became
32041-571: Was skeptical that catastrophic events of a scale large enough to cause total extinction were possible. In his geological history of the earth titled Hydrogeologie, Lamarck instead argued that the surface of the earth was shaped by gradual erosion and deposition by water, and that species changed over time in response to the changing environment. Charles Lyell , a noted geologist and founder of uniformitarianism , believed that past processes should be understood using present day processes. Like Lamarck, Lyell acknowledged that extinction could occur, noting
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