Home / Historical
Brief Introduction
An important Paleolithic site had been excavated first in 1927 in a cave on Dragon Bone Hill at Zhoukoudian, southwest Beijing. In 1929, skull fossils of Peking Man were discovered, providing evidence for the existence of primitive man, and marking a milestone for the history of paleo-anthropology. Six skulls, 15 pieces of lower jawbones, 157 teeth and numerous other bone segments from the bodies of about 40 humans were excavated, to provide data for the study of the evolution of pre-historic biology and development of pre-historic culture.
The study of geological strata indicates that Peking Man lived about 700, 000 to 200,000 years ago. The average brain volume of these primitive people was 1,088 ml (the average for modern people is 1,400 ml), and is estimated that the average height reached 156 cm for males and 150 cm for females.
Peking Man was among the first human beings to learn how to use fire, and could hunt large animals. The average life expectancy was short, which estimated that 68.2% of them died by the age of 14, and only 4.5% lived to older than 50-years old.
Fossils of primitive men living 20,000 years ago were excavated in 1930 near the top of Dragon Bone Hill, and were named Upper Cave Man fossils. In 1973, fossils of New Cave Man were discovered. New Cave Man is believed to have lived in the period between Peking Man and Upper cave Man.
Cultural Heritage
As primitive men evolved from ape-like men to intelligent men, Peking Man learned how to make tools in the early Paleolithic period, marking them as humans, different from apes.
The discovery and study of Peking Man and his culture solved the 50-year-long controversy over whether ape-men were apes or men, which resulted from the excavation of Java Man in the 19th century. Evidence indicates that at the dawn of human civilization, ape-men existed and they were descendants of southern apes and ancestors of intelligent men, judging from their physiques, culture and social organization. Peking Man still serves as the benchmark for judging whether an ancient creature was an ape or homo sapiens. The Zhoukoudian Site is invaluable for paleo-anthropological research.
Fossils
In December 1929, under the leadership of Chinese anthropologist Pei Wenzhong, a team from the Peking Institute of Geology excavated the first skull fossil of Peking Man. It was identified as being at least 690,000 years old. In the following large-scale excavation, many skulls, bones, teeth and bone segments were discovered.
Evolution From Ape to Man
The site of Peking Man is a large natural cave. Some 700,000 years ago, a species of homo sapiens lived here for about 300,000 years, leaving several layers of ash as evidence of the use of fire. Numerous stone tools were excavated as well.
In 1933, fossils of the New Cave Man, who lived about 50,000 to 20,000 years ago, were discovered. He was a descendant of Peking Man, but much more evolved. He resembled modern human beings in appearance, with fairly well developed intelligence and superior physique to Peking Man.
Address: 1 Zhoukoudian Dajie, Fangshan District
Tel: +86 10 6930 1278
Open: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. (November 1-March 31)
8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (April 1-October 31)
Admission: 30 yuan for adults, 15 yuan for children and elderly
Traffic: Take bus No. 917 from Tianqiao to Liangxiang Ximen, or bus No. 616 at Beijing West Railway Station to Liangxiang Ximen, and then take bus No. 38 to Zhoukoudian.
