One of the first Homo erectus specimens, named ’Peking Man’ was recovered from this cave system outside of Beijing. Ancient human teeth were discovered in 1921 and were the first human teeth found in Asia, then a skull cap in 1929.

The oldest remains to be found so far are around 500,000 years and come from a selection of around 40 different individuals, animals and tools.

Our more recent ancestors, Homo sapiens lived in the caves above where Homo erectus was found. The caves have a very important place in evolutionary theory, proving that man did develop from apes and learned to control fire, use tools and think creatively.

There is now an onsite museum housing the finds in the mountains just outside Zhoukoudian town. Work is still undertaken on the site periodically.

Zhoukoudian information from UNESCO.

Written by  World Reviewer Staff.

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