Zhoukoudian

Zhoukoudian is a cave complex in the Fangshan District of Beijing, China, notable for one of the most important early human fossil assemblages. The site’s most famous finds come from Locality 1, known as Dragon Bone Hill, where excavations in the 1920s and 1930s uncovered numerous Homo erectus remains, including skulls, jaws and teeth, along with stone tools and animal bones.

The Zhoukoudian assemblage documents a long human occupation. The Lower Cave deposits are associated with Homo erectus and are dated to roughly 700,000 to 200,000 years ago, while a separate Upper Cave deposit contains later human remains, including Homo sapiens, dating to tens of thousands of years ago. The site provided crucial evidence about early human behavior in East Asia, including tool use and the control of fire.

Peking Man, as the Homo erectus fossils are popularly known, had a profound impact on theories of human evolution and our understanding of early Asian populations. In the 1930s and early 1940s, the fossils were shipped to the United States for safekeeping; during World War II most specimens were lost or destroyed, and only casts and replicas remain in China today.

Today Zhoukoudian is a protected archaeological and paleontological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, recognized for its significance to human evolution. The site includes the Peking Man Site Museum, which exhibits replicas and contextual information while continuing ongoing research at Locality 1 and surrounding areas.