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Homo erectus: Peking Man

  • Common Name:

    Peking Man

  • Geologic Age:

    800 Ka - 400 Ka

  • Discovery Date:

    1921-1966

  • Discovered By:

    O. Zdansky 1921; B. Bohlin 1928-1929; W. Pei 1930-1937; Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing 1959 and 1966

  • Discovery Location:

    Zhoukoudian, China

  • Cranial Capacity:

    1030 cc

  • Specimen Age:

    Adult

  • Sex:

    Male

    Locality 1 at Zhoukoudian represents the one of the largest collection of Homo erectus fossils found in one location. A total of 40 individuals are represented by five skullcaps, eleven mandibles, 147 teeth, and multiple cranial and facial fragments. The Peking Man reconstruction by Gary Sawyer and Ian Tattersall1, seen here, is a composite of bones from four individuals composed of Skull XII, Skull XIV, and Skull X for the skull; fragments GI and GII for the mandible; and isolated teeth to fill the mandible and maxilla. The H. erectus individuals from Locality 1 exhibit traditional H. erectus characteristics, such as large supraorbital torus, sagittal keeling, alveolar prognathism, relatively long and low crania, flexed occipitals, robust mandibles, and large facial bones.

    1. Tattersall I and Sawyer GJ. 1996. The Skull of “Sinanthropus” from Zhoukoudian, China: a new reconstruction. Journal of Human Evolution 31:331-314.

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