Homo Erectus Yuanmouensis Site

Synonym: Yuanmou Man site

This is the earliest site of human relics in China. The teeth of Homo erectus yuamouensis were found on 1 May 1965 in the lower part of a brown layer of the Pleistocene Yuanmoa Formation in northwestern Bang Village, Shang Na, Yuanmou County, Yunnan Province. Identified by Hu Chengzhi, the two incisors are considered to be comparable to that of the Peking Man, but they are more primitive. The age of Yuanmou Man was first determined in 1976 as approximately 1.7 million years old based on palaeomagnetic dating methods. Yuanmou Man is the earliest human fossil identified in China. The history of the Chinese race started with Yuanmou Man. In the 25th layer of the Yuanmou Formation, where the tooth fossils were unearthed, 17 pieces of stone artefacts were also excavated, in addition to bone pieces with human traces and a chicken nest-shaped charcoal layer. These features are evident to indicate that Yuanmou Man used fire (Fig. 16).

Fig. 16

Teeth fossil of Yuanmou...