Zhoukoudian, China
Zhoukoudian, China [Si].Cave site on a steep hillside southwest of Beijing where numerous fossil hominid remains have been found. In ancient times the cave would have been overlooking the sea; more recently it is in an area of limestone mining. Initial excavations in the late 1920s by Davidson Black revealed thirteen main horizons within the cave, the investigation of which was continued by Franz Weidenrich, Black's successor, in the period 1935–7. In the lower levels more than 40 examples of HOMO ERECTUS, locally known as ‘Peking Man’, were discovered and reported. They date to about 300 000 BC. However, in 1941, when the Japanese were about to attack Beijing, the fossils disappeared after being packed for shipment to the USA. They have never been found, but more recent excavations by Woo Ju-Kang have found more early human remains together with stone tools and traces of the use of fire. In the upper levels there are...
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