The Peking Man
What did they Find?
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Who is the Peking Man?
What did they Find?
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From 1929 to 1937 the following fossils were dicovered at Zhoukoudian Cave in the Lower Cave at Locality 1 of the Peking Man site (the cave is also known as Choukoutien Cave)

- 14 partial craniums
- 11 lower jaws
- several teeth and fragments of teeth
- some skeletal bones
- large numbers of stone tools

The age of these objects have been estimated to be between 500,000 and 300,000 years old.

The skulls, listed below with their official names and official descriptions given by Franz Weidenreich, were the most complete fossils.

- Skull III: discovered at Locus E in 1929 is an adolescent or juvenile with a brain size of 915 cc.
- Skull II, discovered at Locus D in 1929 but only recognized in 1930, is an adult or adolescent with a brain size of 1030 cc.
- Skulls X, XI and XII (sometimes called LI, LII and LIII) were discovered at Locus L in 1936. They are thought to belong to an adult man, an adult woman and a young adult, with brain sizes of 1225 cc, 1015 cc and 1030 cc respectively.
- Skull V: two cranial fragments were discovered in 1966 which fit with (casts of) two other fragments found in 1934 and 1936 to form much of a skullcap with a brain size of 1140 cc. These pieces were found at a higher level, and appear to be more modern than the other skullcaps.


Below is the Lower Cave at Locality 1 of the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian, near Bejing.

pekingskull.gif

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