Peking Man (Latin name: Homo erectus pekinensis) lived in ancient timesBeijing Zhoukou Store, ofHomo erectus, can use natural fire and making tools (stone tools), yesPrimitive populationTypical representatives of the period.
In 1929, Chinese archaeologistPei WenzhongIn Zhoukoudian, BeijingLonggu MountainA completeskullFossils, this is the famous Peking Man in the earthquake world.
They lived about 700000 to 200000 years ago, and still retained some characteristics of apes, but the division of labor between hands and feet was obvious, and they could controlUsing tools, can use natural fire.With dense forests, overgrown weeds and wild animals, Beijingers beat stones into rough stone tools, cut branches into sticks, and struggle with nature with primitive tools.
In such a dangerous environment, you can't live alone.Therefore, they often work together with dozens of people, share the fruits of labor, and livesocial life。This formed the earlyPrimitive society。
Beijingers make tools during the day, pick fruits, hunt wild animals, and return at nightLonggu MountainIn the cave, we had a rest while warming the fire and talked with simple language and gestures.Peking Man uses his lower limbs to support his body and walk upright. His upper limbs are similar to the hands of modern people and prey on wild animals.
The most in the world
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Peking Man SiteUnearthed in the worldman from late Paleolithic ageThe site with the most abundant remains of bones and fire.Beijingers are Homo erectus with the richest connotation and the most complete data in the world.Five relatively completePeking Man's SkullFossils and some other parts of the fossil, as well as a large number of stone tools and stone chips, a total of more than 100000 pieces.It was found in Zhoukoudian, Beijing, about 700000 to 200000 years ago. It retains some characteristics of apes. It has used stone tools and natural fire to live in groups.Some scholars believe that at that timeAngular apparatus。In addition to hunting, edible wild fruits, young leavesroot tuber, andinsectBirds, frogs, snakes and other small animals are also daily food sources.There is a thick layer of ash in the cave where Beijingers lived, the thickest part of which is 6 meters. There are burned animal bones, tree seeds, stones and charcoal blocks in the ash pile.It shows that Beijingers can use fire and preserve fire.The study found that Peking people usually form a group of dozens of people.Life expectancy is very short. Most people die before the age of 14.
Beijingers
Discovery history
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Restored image of "Peking Man" at Zhoukoudian site[1]
This site was built bySwedenOfgeologistJ.G.Andersson And the United StatesAustriaOfpaleontologistIt was discovered by Shidansky and has been excavated since 1927.On December 2, 1929, Chinese archaeologistPei WenzhongstayZhoukou StoreLonggu MountainIn the cave, the first completeskullFossils, he concluded excitedly, are from ancient humansremains。In 1936,JialanpoHe succeeded Mr. Pei Wenzhong in presiding over the excavation of Zhoukoudian and found three "Peking Man" skulls in November 1936, which shocked the international academic community.Since then, archaeologists have found five more completeFossil skull of Peking ManAnd some other parts of the skeleton fossils, they belong to more than 40 individuals of different ages and sexes.There are also a lot of stone tools andFlakeA total of more than 100000 items.There are piles of ashesBurn boneAnd charredSimple treeSeeds, andanimal fossilMore than 100 kinds.This is called the "Beijing People's Home"Zhoukoudian Ancient SiteIs the most abundant data found in ChinaAncient Human SiteIt is also the most abundant site of ancient human remains and relics unearthed in the world.[2]
These archaeological inventions have provided valuable data for the study of the physical form, labor and living conditions of Beijingers.
Fossil skull of Peking man - frontal bone found in May 1966
1941Sino Japanese relationsMore and more nervous, for fear ofsafety problem, the US side willPeking Man's SkullAnd other fossil materials are planned to be transported toAmerican Museum of Naturepreservation.DecemberPacific WarThe Japanese army quickly occupiedPeking Union Medical CollegeIncluding the United States in Beijing, TianjinqinghuangdaoSince then, the whereabouts of institutions in other places have been unknown and no news has been heard, which has become a mystery in history.The extant real specimen is a model of the skull of Peking Man found in 1966 from the top accumulation layer.Then I found outStoneware, bone and horn products.
The Chinese personnel who participated in the excavation at that time include later academiciansJialanpoSir, with his death, a batch of photos excavated in those years were left unattended.
historian《General History of China》Part I: "In the cave at Zhoukoudian, southwest of Beijing, in 1929, ape human skulls, teeth, jaw bones andTruncal boneFossil.This ape man is named 'Peking Man of China' (or 'Peking Man').They already know what to chooseGravelOr quartz, struck into angular pieces of stone, used as weapons ortool of productionTo use.They live in limestone caves, burn fires with firewood and barbecue food. "
Physical characteristics
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The high protrusion of the cheekbones of Beijingers.Average brain volume is 1043[3]milliliter.The body is thick and short, the average height of men is 162 cm, and the average height of women is 152 cm. Its face is slightly shorter than that of modern people, and it protrudes forward. The forehead is low and flat, the nose is wide and flat, and the upper edge of the eye socket is connected with two thickEyebrow bone, mouth protrudes, teeth are thick, up and downJawboneProtruding forward without chin.[1]
Beijingers use natural fire. The so-called natural fire is not a man-made fire, but a thunder that hits dry wood and ignites the fire, orVolcano eruptionandforest fire。Take turns to watch the fire at night. They use ash to save the fire.
At that time, Beijing people lived in a large area of forests and waters, with a warm and humid climate.Animals often haunt here, such asSika deer，wild horseThere are also abundant aquatic plants (scientists mainly based on the unearthed animals andPlant fossilTo study the environment at that time).Beijingers use stones, animal bones and antlers to make various tools.Their techniques for making stone tools are relatively mature, and they use different methods to make different types of tools.asCuspidator、Scraper, stone hammer and stone anvil, etc.The age when this stone tool was used is calledPaleolithic AgeBeijingers use these tools to hunt animals and collectPlant fruit。They live together in groups and work together to obtain food.
At that time, they baked food with fire and slept by the fire at night, so that they could keep warm and drive away wild animals, because they were afraid of fire.
In Zhoukoudian at that time, there were thick forests, wild grass and beasts.The Beijingers hammered the stones into rough stone toolsChopping toolScraperEngraverCut the branches into sticks and fight hard with nature with primitive tools.They can't live on their own, so they often work together and share the fruits of their worksocial life, forming the earlyPrimitive society。
And modern Chinese
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Fossil skull of Peking Man
For more than 50 years, ChinaarchaeologistSuccessively in Yuanmou, Yunnan and ShaanxiLantianAnhuiHe CountyMore than 60 places have been foundPaleoanthropology FossilLocation and more than 1000 placesPaleolithic AgeCultural sites.Some Chinese historians originally believed that Homo erectus represented by Beijingers came out earlierAfricaHuman beings have evolved into modern humans in different places, namelyMulti geographical origin theory。
howeverMolecular anthropologyThis poses a challenge.According to the“Single origin theory”Modern people appeared in eastern Africa about 200000 to 100000 years ago, and entered at least 60000 years agoEast Asia。Therefore, Peking Man has nothing to do with today's Chinese people.This theory is mainly based on the modern populationMitochondrial DNAAnd Y chromosome analysis.U.S.AUniversity of TexasScientists at the Human Genetics CenterJinliAfter cooperating with some Chinese scientific research institutions, he also wrote an article pointing out that today's genetic evidence does not support the claim that modern Chinese have independent origins.In East Asia between 100000 years ago and 40000 years ago, there was actually a fossil "cut-off" period, that is, human sites at this stage were very rare.People from Africa arrived in southern China 60000 to 40000 years ago and gradually replaced themAsiaAncient people on the earth, such as descendants of Peking Man.Although there is still much controversy about the path of modern people entering East Asia, most geneticists have accepted this view.
Longgu Mountain, the distribution point of Beijingers
human beingsmolecular geneticsThe research results ofAfrica(Out of Africa), that is, all modern humans living on the earth left Africa about 50000 to 100000 years agoPrehistoric manDescendants of.Y-chromosomeHaplogroup andmitochondrionSNPResearch shows that the ancestors of modern humans who settled in East Asia entered after leaving East Africathe arabian peninsula, alongthe indian oceanShoreline entrySoutheast AsiaThe region (including Yunnan, China) gradually expanded to the northern inland area later, that is, the "Southern route" hypothesis of East Asian population migration from south to north.At the same time, there is also the "Northern route" hypothesis, that is, prehistoric humans went fromNorth Africaget intomediterranean seaThe eastern region, and then enter along the east-west directionCentral AsiaAnd Europe.[4]
The study shows that there are four major Y-haplogroups in East Asian population, accounting for about 93% of the detected population, which supports the southern line theory.What's important is that the study found that Central Asia and West Asia do exist in East AsiaEurasianAbout 7%.The phylogenetic analysis of these haploid groups shows that they are basically the last along the northern lineGlaciationAfter the crowd expansion.Especially the Y chromosomeMonoploid QIt is speculated that Q1a1-M120, a subfranch of the East Asia, is the best trace left by prehistoric people migrating along the northern route through northern East Asia.Y chromosome haploid Q is distributed inEastern Europe、Northern Europe, Caucasuswest Asia、South Asia, Central AsiaSiberia、AmericaAnd East Asia, but the branches of Q, Q1a1-M120, are localized in East Asia, mainly people from the north of East Asia, and show the highestPolymorphism。In addition, the ancestral haploid group Q1a3 * of the American population of Q origin (Q1a3a) was also detected in northern East Asia.The individuals from haploid groups Q1a1-M120 and Q1a3 * - M346 showed a common ancestor time of 154 and 17800 years respectively.These evidences well support the migration mode of prehistoric people to the north, and it is this kind of northLinepairThe population input of East Asia has increased the number of people from the north and south of East AsiaGenetic differences。[4]
Latest findings
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overview
The excavation focuses on the fifth and sixth layers of the ape man cave
The Zhoukoudian "Peking Man" site has been questioned by some Western scholars for 30 years. Due to insufficient evidence of fire use, Zhoukoudian Ape Man Cave has been questioned as a natural "trap" rather than a living place for ancient people.On July 17, 2015, Zhoukoudian Site was heldpress conference, published a large number of newly discovered evidence of "Beijingers" controlling the use of fire, which effectively countered the doubts of western scholars.[5]A large number of relics show that "Beijingers" learned to use fire 400000 to 500000 years ago.
Counterattack Western scholars' doubts
Respond to queries and provide important scientific materials
An important discovery of this excavation is that during the cleaning process,Fire poolThe dense appearance of relics and remains of ancient human fire use, such as in-situ sintered soil, burned stone, and burned bone, has provided important scientific materials for the study of "Peking Man" fire use behavior.
Famous in ChinaPaleolithicArchaeologist and paleoanthropologistHigh starIt is introduced that the fourth layer of the Ape Man Cave is the "ash layer", or“Upper cultural layer”During this period, not only the evidence of "Beijingers" using fire remains, but also stone products andanimal fossilA large number of them were unearthed.
Gao Xing said that since 1985, some western scholars have questioned the ability of "Beijingers" to use fire and preserve kindling, and proposed that bone burning, stone burning, and ashes as evidence of ancient human fire use may have been washed in by water from outside the cave;The burned and blackened materials and ashes may be caused by natural fire, or the humic materials in the cave, or the feces of birds, bats, etcoxidation reaction Results.The ape man cave may just be a natural "trap", rather than a place where ancient humans lived.
Find the fire certificate for control
Find the fire certificate for control
The excavation results show that the site is suspected to be usedFire zoneThe sediment may have been heated above 700 ℃, but the natural fire can not reach such a high temperature generally.Gao Xing said that these magneticchromaThe abnormal sediments may be affected by human control of fire use, but whether they were accumulated in the original fire use area or have experienced re transportation needs further study.
High starAccording to the introduction, in order to obtain conclusive evidence of "Beijingers" using firemagnetismLuminescence characteristics, micromorphologyElemental carbon、Phytolith、Sporopollen, infrared spectrum analysis, distribution characteristics of cultural relics and other factors, re examined the evidence of whether "Beijingers" used fire,Analysis testWhether there is any evidence of the existence of siliceous substance in the ash.
The research found that the fourth and sixth layers of ash in the Ape Man Cave contained siliceous bodies, which proved that "Peking Man" used fire, indicating that the age of "Peking Man" in the fourth and sixth layers (400000-500000 years ago) had been able to use fire in a controlled way.
Zero distance experience of archaeological excavation in summer activities
According to Dong Cuiping, director of Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site Management Officecultural heritageThe distance from the public, combined with the ongoing rescue clearing and excavation of the ape man cave, the Site Management Office launched the characteristic activity of "zero distance experience archaeological excavation" in the summer.
Visitors can visit the archaeological excavation site of the Ape Man Cave at a close distance, and talk with archaeologistsFace to face communicationgeology、archaeology、PaleoanthropologyTo further understand the production and life of ancient people.
At the same time, under the guidance of science popularization workers, the audience can also conduct simulated excavation in the simulated excavation area of Zhoukoudian Site, and clean up and identify the excavated fossils, so as to further understand the knowledge of archaeological excavation and experience the hardships of archaeology.
Small Archives of Zhoukoudian Site
The "Heart" of Zhoukoudian Site
The first site (Ape Man Cave) is the "heart" of Zhoukoudian Site, which is the most famousScientific valueThe landmark accumulation body ofQuaternary geologySectionalRepresentativenessRelics preserve the most complete stratigraphic sequence and abundant scientific information of the site.
The ape man cave has been exposed to the sun, rainwind erosionetc.natural forceDestruction of.In order to protect and research the ape man cave, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage approved the excavation of this site in 2009.
Since 2009, the western section of the first site (Ape Man Cave) of Zhoukoudian Site has been studiedSalvage excavationWork.
