The Shandong Radiation Model —The Evolutionary Core of East Asian Populations and the Origin of Chinese Civilization Since the Last Glacial Period

On the timescale of the Last Glacial Period (approximately 50,000 to 10,000 years ago), this paper restores Shandong (western Shandong–northern Jiangsu) as the core area and radiation center for East Asian populations in terms of physical traits (shovel-shaped incisors), genetic structure (Y-chromosome O-M122), cultural innovation (continuous fire use), salt resource support (5,000 years of continuous sea salt production), ritual traditions (Tailao sacrifice)太牢祭祀, mythological memory (Nüwa mending the heavens), and the origins of early Chinese civilization. The study integrates multiple independent lines of evidence: 1. Linguistics: Phonetic-semantic cognation of “Liao” with “Old”, “Lu”, and “Zu”; grammaticalization of “ear” into “you”; “chatting by the fire” as fire-pit ancestral communication; Old Chinese homophony of “Zhang张” and “Elder” 2. Philology: Decoding of the variant character “ear–pen” as folk encoding of the Tailao sacrifice; the three-ear character as ritual listening; the structure of “Qing” (clear) as “ice + ear + knife” 3. Archaeology: The Longshan culture high-platform site at Liaogumiao; continuous fire use sequence at Bashan; the Weifang潍坊–Dongying东营 salt production site cluster; the nine Longshan walled-towns of Yanggu阳谷–Chiping茌平–Dong’e东阿 4. Genetics: Global gradient of shovel-shaped incisors (EDAR V370A); O-M122 Shandong–Jiangsu cluster, expansion, and radiation center; D4h Native American maternal ancestry; detection of O-F3323 (core Ying姓 marker) at the Chengziya(城子崖) site 5. Historical Geography: Nationwide uniqueness of the “ear”-origin administrative division; 3,000 years of continuous administrative evolution at Liaoshe(聊摄); identification of the Jiang River as the Hongyan River(鸿雁江); the “upthrown–downthrown” Yin阴–Yang阳 division line of the Liaokao Fault Zone(聊考断裂带); Yanggu as the “Sunrise Valley” (Yanggu) 6. Geology: Four paleoseismic events on the Liaokao Fault Zone in the Late Pleistocene, with single-event vertical displacements of 1.2–3.7 m, providing the geological prototype for the “broken heavenly pillar” myth 7. Archaeoastronomy: Field allocations of the twelve lunar mansions (Xuanxiao to Qi, Juzi to Wei, Dahuo to Song, Jianglou to Lu); the Huainanzi cosmology of “sunrise at Yanggu, sunset at Nüji”; the northwest Nüji(女纪) (Female Chronicle) corresponding to the Zhang surname; the Four Celestial Emblems at Xiangzhou(相州) 8. Salt Archaeology: Over 700 salt production sites in Shandong, 5,000 years of continuous “Life Salt”; Liaocheng(聊城) as the strategic “Salt Gate” controlling westward transport, defended by nine Longshan walled-towns 9. Global Comparison: Maasai ear-piercing initiation; Baga ear-shaped ritual objects; Native American D4h ancestry; geochemistry of East African “Execution Salt” 10. Ritual Theory: Restoration of the “Great Elder → Ancestor → Heavenly Emperor” lineage; the Shaohao少昊–Ying嬴姓–Zhang张 lineage chain; decoding of the Jade Emperor’s surname Zhang; Changyi (lunar observation), Shuangjiu爽鸠氏 (Minister of Justice), and Youchao有巢氏 (annihilation) as components of the northwestern execution system