Published : 02/12/2024

On December 2, 1929, the first complete hominid skull was unearthed in China's Zhoukoudian (周口店), Beijing, and was named "Peking Man."

The formal name of Peking Man is "Homo erectus pekinensis," and it is commonly referred to as "Peking Man" in the scientific community, belonging to the Palaeolithic era.

Back in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), there were already rumours of "dragon bones" being found in the Zhoukoudian area of Beijing. People would use "dragon bones" as medicine, grind them into powder, and apply it to wounds to relieve pain and promote healing.

In modern times, after research by palaeontologists, it was determined that the so-called "dragon bones" were merely fossilised bones of ancient organisms.

The large-scale excavation work at this site began in 1927, led by the Geological Survey of China and the Peking Union Medical College.

By 1929, archaeologists saw a small hole during the excavation and unexpectedly discovered many animal fossils.

On the afternoon of December 2, under the leadership of the renowned Chinese paleoanthropologist, prehistoric archaeologist, and geologist Pei Wenzhong (裴文中), a hominid skull was successfully found, with half exposed above the ground and the other half still buried in hard soil.

A total of 6 skulls, 12 cranial fragments, 15 mandibles, 157 teeth, and some broken bone fragments were unearthed from the Peking Man fossils, belonging to more than 40 male and female individuals of various ages.

Archaeologists simultaneously discovered as many as 100,000 stone tools, as well as ash and soot sites and burnt stones and bones indicating the use of fire.