Zhoukoudian


Zhoukoudian

Archaeological site some 26 mi (42 km) southwest of Beijing, China, where fossil remains of the extinct hominin Homo erectus have been found. So-called Peking man was identified as a new fossil human by Canadian anthropologist Davidson Black in 1927 and variously classified as Pithecanthropus and Sinanthropus before being assigned to H. erectus. Partial remains of about 40 individuals along with more than 100,000 artifacts have been uncovered, making Zhoukoudian one of the most important H. erectus sites in the world. Its strata date to 770,000–230,000 years ago. It was named a World Heritage site in 1987.

Variants of ZHOUKOUDIAN

Zhoukoudian or Chou-k'ou-tien

This entry comes from Encyclopædia Britannica Concise.
For the full entry on Zhoukoudian, visit Britannica.com.

Seen & Heard

What made you look up Zhoukoudian? Please tell us what you were reading, watching or discussing that led you here.

Test Your Vocabulary

Take Our 10-Question Quiz

Get Our Free Apps
Voice Search, Favorites,
Word of the Day, and More
Join Us on FB & Twitter
Get the Word of the Day and More