Peking Man
Peking Man (currently Homo erectus pekinensis) is an example of Homo erectus. The remains were first found between in 1923 and 1937 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, in China.
| Homo erectus pekinensis Temporal range: Pleistocene
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In 2009 the finds were dated from roughly 750,000 years ago,[1] and a new 26Al/10Be dating suggests they are in the range of 680,000–780,000 years old.[2][3]
The original fossils disappeared in 1941, but casts and descriptions remain. They show that this subspecies looked similar to modern humans and Neanderthals, and used stone tools. Most likely fire was used, and it is currently unknown if interbreeding was between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, and if this is an ancestor or member of the Denisovan peoples of East Asia. No religious or symbolic findings are yet associated with this subspecies.
Peking Man Media
Reconstruction of Skull XI with a hypothetical jawbone
- The site of the first discovered skull cap of Peking Man.JPG
Zhoukoudian Locality 1, where the first relatively complete skullcap was discovered
- Tooth of Homo Erectus Uppsala Sweden.jpg
One of the Peking Man teeth at the Palaeontological Museum of Uppsala University
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Ernst Haeckel suggested early humans dispersed from the now-disproven hypothetical continent "Lemuria".
1936 restorations of various fossil skulls (note the "Piltdown Man" was declared a hoax in 1953)
- Java Man holotype.jpg
Franz Weidenreich early on recognised the similarity between Java Man (above) and Peking Man.
- OH 9 Replica 01.JPG
Olduvai Hominin 9 (above) and other African H. erectus discoveries marginalised Peking Man's role in human evolution.[4]
- Nanjing Man IVPP.jpg
Among other H. erectus, Peking Man is most similar to Nanjing Man (above)
- Peking Man Weidenreich.png
Weidenreich's 1937 reconstruction of a female Peking Man skull
References
- ↑ Paul Rincon (2009). "'Peking Man' older than thought". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7937351.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ 'Peking Man' older than thought. BBC News. 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7937351.stm. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
- ↑ Boaz & Ciochon 2004, pp. 68–72.