Beijing natives
Zhoukoudian Site 1 Site-Ape Cave "is the site where Peking Ape's skull was unearthed". Located on the northeast slope of Gulong, it is the most important site in Zhoukoudian site. Since the excavation in 192 1 year, * * has found more than 200 "Peking man" fossils, belonging to more than 40 people of all ages; Nearly 654.38 million stone tools have been unearthed; At present, 98 species of mammal fossils and 62 species of bird fossils have been found, which occupies an important position in international paleoanthropology. Dong Cuiping, director of Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site Museum, said that at present, one third of the original accumulation remains in the Ape Cave, which is the standard profile of the Middle Pleistocene in North China and plays an important role in further studying ancient humans, paleogeology and paleoenvironment.
fourth
The fourth Zhoukoudian site: Zhoukoudian site1(39 41'14.54302 "n,16.5438+05 55' 29.54308" e) is located on the south slope of Gulong Mountain.
1927 the fourth site was excavated, and some mammals, a few stone tools and more than ten kinds of mammal fossils were found. 1937, an official excavation found a human tooth, fire remains, dozens of stone tools and mammalian fossils. There is a layer of ash in the residue of the fire, which is found at the bottom. There are 10 stone tools, the raw materials are basically timely, and the chiseling method is hammering and crushing. The length of stone chips is mostly 30-40mm, and the tools are scrapers and sharp instruments, among which a beak-shaped sharp instrument found in 1938 is the most exquisite. There are 40 species of mammals belonging to 33 genera in this area, of which 82.5% are existing species, 65,438+07.5% are extinct species and 65,438+0973. The fossil of human teeth was found in the fifth grade, which is the first left premolar. Compared with the same tooth of "Beijinger", it is obviously different. It is a "Beijinger" and a cave.
Tianyuan Dongren
Pastoral Cave, Site No.27, found the anatomical parts of human fossils including mandible (with multiple teeth), clavicle, humerus, radius, spine, femur, fibula, calcaneus and phalanges. In addition, there are several scattered teeth belonging to another person.
Fossil animals
There are also a number of ancient animal fossils, and 26 kinds of mammal fossils have been identified, among which deer fossils are the main ones, and there are a large number of porcupine fossils. Macaque, pig badger, musk deer, etc. Appears in pastoral caves, which is lacking in cave fauna. A few fossils have dark brown patches, which are suspected to be caused by fire.
Cultural relics unearthed in caves.
The number of stone tools in the cave is very small, with 25 pieces in total, which is not representative. There are only three knives, all of which are sandstone gravel. Scrapers are all made of flint or Shi Ying chips, and one of them is more exquisite. Bipolar stone chips (or blades at both ends) are mostly in pulse response, and there are traces of stone chips peeling off at both ends. This kind of stone chips are found in many Peking man sites, and Neanderthals also made tools in the same way. There is also 1 piece of red antlers with scratched surface and incomplete tip. The excavation sites include Site 4, Site 13 and Site 14.
spicula
The most representative bone angle unearthed in the cave is the bone needle. The needle body is well preserved, only the pinhole is incomplete, the residual length is 82 mm, the needle body is slightly bent and scraped flat, and the pinhole is dug with a small, thin and sharp instrument. It is the earliest Paleolithic sewing tool found in China.
No.26 venue
Zhoukoudian Site No.26 (Cave): Site No.26 is a cave (39 41'16.90513 "e15 55' 28.51044"). During the period of 1933- 1934, a systematic excavation was carried out, and 900 cubic meters of sediments were excavated, and fossil materials representing at least 8 caves, including 3 skulls, were found. In stone products, 5 stone cores, 37 stone chips, 5 stone hammers, 5 scrapers and 2 knives with clear artificial properties have been found. "This shows that our ancestors have mastered the technology of making tools and used them in production and life." The number of ape-man fossils, stone tools and mammal fossils unearthed in Zhoukoudian Beijing ape-man site and the richness of fire remains are incomparable to other sites of the same era.
Cultural system
The cavemen were in the period of matriarchal clan commune, and women played a leading role in social life, establishing kinship according to matriarchal descent. They use * * * all the tools, * * * with labor, * * * with the distribution of food, there is no distinction between rich and poor. Neanderthals still use hammered stone tools, but they have mastered polishing and drilling techniques. They made artificial fires, lived by gathering and hunting, and fished. They can go far away to exchange daily necessities with other primitive people. Cavemen have sewed clothes with bone needles and know how to love beauty. They will be buried when they die. Some perforated animal teeth, sea clamp shells and polished stone beads were also found in the cave of Neanderthals, which were probably ornaments they wore.
Second position
The second site of Zhoukoudian site (latitude 39 41'19.7641",longitude15 55'19.81092") is An Tesheng and Granci. Zhoukoudian Site No.2 is about 200 meters away from 1 site. At first glance, it looks like a north-south dam, about15m high and 2m thick. This is a slope near Gulong Mountain. The formation is a brownish red clay layer, which used to be a mountain burning lime. Mr. Yang first studied it and compiled it as the second site of Zhoukoudian. The unearthed animal fossils include hyenas, swollen deer, rhinoceros, wild boar and mice. * * * A total of 22 species of mammalian fossils have been found, including 2 species from insectivora, 8 species from rodents, 2 species from Rabbiniformes, 2 species from primates 1 species, 2 species from Carnivora, 1 species from Chiroptera 1 species and 6 species from cloven-hoofed. In addition, there are 1 species of reptiles and birds in the Middle Pleistocene. The animal fossils found are pale yellow and white, mostly made of broken limb bones, but the fossils are highly fossilized. Followed by the individual teeth of various animals, as well as nearly 40 mandibles (including intact and broken) and several broken skulls that are of great significance to the study. According to researcher Huang Wanbo's description, this site is because these sediments were left after the stones were dug away during lime digging, and calcareous cemented clay nodules were above the sediments. World Heritage Committee assessment
The 38th World Cultural Heritage Conference announced that Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site was successfully selected into the World Cultural Heritage List.
Zhoukoudian site is located 48 kilometers southwest of Beijing, and the scientific investigation of the site is still in progress. So far, scientists have found the remains of Peking man, a Chinese ape-man who lived in the Middle Pleistocene. At the same time, they also found various articles of life and the remains of new humans from BC 18000 to BC1000. Zhoukoudian site is not only a rare historical evidence of ancient Asian human society, but also shows the evolution process of human beings. The discovery and study of Beijingers and their culture have solved the problems surrounding the scientific community since the discovery of Javanese in 19.
Half a century's debate about whether Homo erectus is an ape or a man. Facts show that in the dawn of human history, from the perspective of body shape, cultural nature and social organization, there did exist the stage of "Homo erectus". They are descendants of Australopithecus and ancestors of Homo sapiens. Homo erectus is an important intermediate link in the evolution from apes to humans. Up to now, the typical form of "Homo erectus" is still dominated by Beijingers in Zhoukoudian, and Zhoukoudian site is still the richest, most systematic and most valuable ancient human site in the world. Zhoukoudian site is a well-deserved treasure house of ancient human culture.
The discovery of Peking man's skull made Zhoukoudian a world-famous birthplace of early human beings. After decades of excavation, * * * has discovered 27 fossils and cultural relics in different periods, 40 Peking man fossils, 65,438+10,000 stone tools, a large number of fire remains and hundreds of animal fossils. It is an ancient human and paleontological site with the richest connotation, the most complete data and the most scientific research value in the same period in the world. It is also a comprehensive research base of paleoanthropology, paleolithic archaeology and Quaternary geology in China. 1987 UNESCO has listed it as a "world cultural heritage". Lift the curtain of human history
As early as the early Paleolithic period, "Beijingers" knew how to choose rocks, make stone tools, use them as weapons or primitive production tools, and transform themselves in the struggle with nature, which shows that "Beijingers" have learned to use primitive tools for labor, which is the fundamental difference between humans and apes.
The history of human use of fire has advanced for hundreds of thousands of years.
Archaeologists found some possible cultural relics and remains, such as ashes, charred bones, carbon chips and so on, in the caves where "Beijingers" lived, on the upper part of the third and fourth floors. These materials will provide new clues for the scientific conclusion that "Beijingers have the ability to use fire".
"Beijingers" have learned to use fire, control fire and save fire, which is an important symbol of human beings entering the civilized world from the animal kingdom.
It provides a basis for studying the history of ecological environment changes in Beijing.
Through the study of "Beijingers" and their surrounding natural environment, it shows that the geology and geomorphology of Beijing 50 years ago are basically similar to today's, and there are dense forest communities in hilly and mountainous areas, among which there are rich animal populations. But there have also been vast grasslands and deserts, including the remains of ostriches and camels, which shows that during this long period of time, Beijing had a warm, humid and cold and dry climate. The direct ancestor of China people-pastoral Neanderthals.
The "Pastoral Cave Site" in Zhoukoudian site group was discovered in 200 1, located in Fangshan District, Beijing, about 6 kilometers away from the famous "Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site". This is the 27th site in Zhoukoudian site group.
Scientists from the Institute of vertebrate paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences have been digging and studying here, and found the remains of ancient humans including mandible and some limb bones and abundant mammalian bones, and determined that the age of this ancient human individual was 40,000 years ago.
It is reported that the Zhoukoudian Paleoanthropology Research Center of China Academy of Sciences and the Pastoral Cave Archaeological Team will continue to excavate cave sites according to the original excavation plan, in order to obtain more and more complete scientific data, especially to find information about the existence and behavior of ancient humans. At the same time, samples of sedimentology, environmentology and chronology will be collected to analyze and test the age, ecological environment, sedimentary dynamics and burial conditions of the site. An international team led by scientists from China successfully extracted the nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA of Neanderthals.
The analysis shows that Neanderthals only carried a small amount of DNA of ancient humans-Neanderthals and Denisovans, which showed more genetic characteristics of early modern people. Neanderthals are closely related to Asians and Native Americans (Mongols) today, but they are genetically separated from the ancestors of modern Europeans (Europa) and belong to different groups. The results were published in the recent Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A researcher at the Institute of vertebrate paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences said happily, "According to archaeological research, modern human race was formed 40,000-50,000 years ago. But this conclusion lacks evidence at the molecular level. The sequencing analysis of the DNA of the pastoral cave people shows that the direct ancestors of the aborigines can be traced back to Beijing 40,000 years ago. " According to archaeologists, Site 27, the site of pastoral cave, is still being excavated, and the site has not been fully revealed. The extent of the cave and the thickness of all strata are still unknown. In addition, due to the limited number of unearthed fossils, stone tools have not yet been unearthed, and the age and horizon of human fossils need further research. However, according to the existing data and the discovery of ancient humans and paleolithic age in Zhoukoudian site, experts believe that this discovery has three scientific values.
1 Newly-added ancient human site, a new ancient human fossil site discovered around Zhoukoudian site after the founding of the People's Republic of China, is a new site for Zhoukoudian site, a world cultural heritage site and an internationally renowned important ancient human research base. Preliminary isotopic dating results show that the age of this human fossil is roughly the same as that of Zhoukoudian Neanderthal. Because all the caveman fossils were lost during the Anti-Japanese War, after many investigations and excavations after the founding of the People's Republic of China, no human fossils were found in Zhoukoudian. This discovery made up for the loss of Neanderthal fossils. The newly discovered materials have become the only remaining caveman fossils in Beijing. The important period of modern human evolution in East Asia is the ancient human fossils from 2000 to 65438+ 10,000 years ago. This stage is an important period for the evolution of modern human beings, especially those in East Asia, and it is also a hot topic of international academic research and debate. The discovery of the site and its ancient human remains is of great significance to the study of modern human evolution in East Asia, and provides important new data for the study of the ancient environment in Zhoukoudian and even North China in the late Late Pleistocene.