| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Zhoukoudian Entrance | |||||||||||||
| Official name | Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian | ||||||||||||
| Location | Zhoukoudian Town, Fangshan District, Beijing, China | ||||||||||||
| Criteria | Cultural: (iii), (vi) | ||||||||||||
| Reference | 449 | ||||||||||||
| Inscription | 1987 (11th Session) | ||||||||||||
| Area | 480 ha (1.9 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Buffer zone | 888 ha (3.43 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 39°41′21″N 115°55′26″E / 39.68917°N 115.92389°E | ||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 周口店北京人遗址 | ||||||||||||
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  Location of Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site in Beijing | |||||||||||||
Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site (周口店北京人遗址), also romanized as Choukoutien, is a cave system in suburban Fangshan District, Beijing. It has yielded many archaeological discoveries, including one of the first specimens of Homo erectus (Homo erectus pekinensis), dubbed Peking Man, and a fine assemblage of bones of the giant short-faced hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris.
Due to differing interpretations of the evidence, proposed dates for when Peking Man inhabited this site vary greatly, including: 700,000–200,000 years ago,[1] 670,000–470,000 years ago,[2] or no earlier than 530,000 years ago.[3]
The Peking Man Site was first discovered by Johan Gunnar Andersson in 1921,[4] and was first excavated by Otto Zdansky in 1921 and 1923, unearthing two human teeth.[5] These were later identified by Davidson Black as belonging to a previously unknown species, and extensive excavations followed. Fissures in the limestone-containing middle Pleistocene deposits have yielded the remains of about 45 individuals, as well as animal remains, and stone flake and chopping tools.
The oldest animal remains date from as early as 690,000 years ago, with tools as old as 670,000 years ago,[6] while another authority dates the tools found as no earlier than 530,000 years ago.[3] During the Upper Palaeolithic, the site was re-occupied, and remains of Homo sapiens and their stone and bone tools have also been recovered from the Upper Cave.
The crater Choukoutien on asteroid 243 Ida was named after the location. The caves are located in Zhoukoudian Town, Fangshan District, southwest of central Beijing.
- ^ "UNESCO World Heritage Site: Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian" https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/449 retrieved 12/15/2013
- ^ Climatic cycles investigated by sediment analysis in Peking Man’s Cave, Zhoukoudian, China., Zhou, C., Lui, Z., Wang, Y.; Journal of Archaeological Science 27, 2000, pp 101-109
- ^ a b Encyclopedia of Prehistory: Volume 3: East Asia and Oceania, Chuan Kun Ho; Human Relations Area Files, Inc., 2001, p 352
- ^ "The First Knock at the Door". Peking Man Site Museum.
In the summer of 1921, Dr. J.G. Andersson and his companions discovered this richly fossiliferous deposit through the local quarry men's guide. During examination he was surprised to notice some fragments of white quartz in tabus, a mineral normally foreign in that locality. The significance of this occurrence immediately suggested itself to him and turning to his companions, he exclaimed dramatically "Here is primitive man, now all we have to do is find him!"
- ^ "The First Knock at the Door". Peking Man Site Museum.
For some weeks in this summer and a longer period in 1923 Dr. Otto Zdansky carried on excavations of this cave site. He accumulated an extensive collection of fossil material, including two Homo erectus teeth that were recognized in 1926. So, the cave home of Peking Man was opened to the world.
- ^ “Middle Pleistocene climate and habitat change at Zhoukoudian, China, from the carbon and oxygen isotopic record from herbivore tooth enamel”, Gaboardia, Deng and Wang, Quaternary Research 63, 2005, p 331