Peking Man

Homo erectus pekinensis
Temporal range: Pleistocene
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Subphylum:
Vertebrata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Primates
Family:
Hominidae
Genus:
Homo
Species:
H. erectus

Peking Man (currently Homo erectus pekinensis) is an example of Homo erectus. The fossil remains were first found between in 1923 and 1937 during excavations at Zhoukoudian near Beijing, in China.

In 2009 the finds were dated from roughly 750,000 years ago, and a new 26Al/10Be dating[further explanation needed] suggests they are in the range of 680,000–780,000 years old.

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. They probably used fire.

Scientists do not know whether interbreeding happened between Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, and if this is an ancestor or a member of the Denisovan peoples of East Asia. No religious or symbolic findings are yet associated with this subspecies.

References

  1. ↑ Paul Rincon (2009). "'Peking Man' older than thought". BBC News. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  2. ↑ Shen, G; Gao, X; Gao, B; Granger, De (2009). "Age of Zhoukoudian Homo erectus determined with (26)Al/(10)Be burial dating". Nature. 458 (7235): 198–200. Bibcode:2009Natur.458..198S. doi:10.1038/nature07741. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 19279636. S2CID 19264385.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ↑ "'Peking Man' older than thought". BBC News. 2009. Retrieved 22 May 2010.