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Peking Man (), ''Homo erectus pekinensis'', is an example of ''Homo erectus''. A group of fossil specimens was discovered in 1923–27 during excavations at Zhoukoudian (Chou K'ou-tien) near Beijing (written "Peking" before the adoption of the Pinyin romanization system), China. In 2009 the finds were dated from roughly 750,000 years ago, and a new 26Al/10Be dating suggests they are in the range of 680,000–780,000 years old. Between 1929 and 1937, 15 partial crania, 11 mandibles, many teeth, some skeletal bones and large numbers of stone tools were discovered in the Lower Cave at Locality 1 of the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian, near Beijing, in China. Their age is estimated to be between 500,000 and 300,000 years old. (A number of fossils of modern humans were also discovered in the Upper Cave at the same site in 1933.) The most complete fossils, all of which were calvariae, are: * Skull II, discovered at Locus D in 1929 but only recognized in 1930, is an adult or adolescent with a brain size of 1030 cc. (Skull II.jpg ) * Skull III, discovered at Locus E in 1929 is an adolescent or juvenile with a brain size of 915 cc. (Skull III.jpg ) * Skulls X, XI and XII (sometimes called LI, LII and LIII) were discovered at Locus L in 1936. They are thought to belong to an adult man, an adult woman and a young adult, with brain sizes of 1225 cc, 1015 cc and 1030 cc respectively. (Skull X.jpg ) (Skull XI.jpg ) (Skull XII.jpg ) * Skull V: two cranial fragments were discovered in 1966 which fit with (casts of) two other fragments found in 1934 and 1936 to form much of a skullcap with a brain size of 1140 cc. These pieces were found at a higher level, and appear to be more modern than the other skullcaps. (Skull V.jpg ) Most of the study on these fossils was done by Davidson Black until his death in 1934. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin took over until Franz Weidenreich replaced him and studied the fossils until he left China in 1941. The original fossils disappeared in 1941, but excellent casts and descriptions remain. ==Discovery and identification== Swedish geologist Johan Gunnar Andersson and American palaeontologist Walter W. Granger came to Zhoukoudian, China in search of prehistoric fossils in 1921. They were directed to the site at Dragon Bone Hill by local quarrymen, where Andersson recognised deposits of quartz that were not native to the area. Immediately realising the importance of this find he turned to his colleague and announced, ''"Here is primitive man; now all we have to do is find him!"'' Excavation work was begun immediately by Andersson's assistant Austrian palaeontologist Otto Zdansky, who found what appeared to be a fossilised human molar. He returned to the site in 1923, and materials excavated in the two subsequent digs were sent to Uppsala University in Sweden for analysis. In 1926 Andersson announced the discovery of two human molars in this material, and Zdansky published his findings. Canadian anatomist Davidson Black of Peking Union Medical College, excited by Andersson and Zdansky’s find, secured funding from the Rockefeller Foundation and recommenced excavations at the site in 1927 with both Western and Chinese scientists. Swedish palaeontologist Anders Birger Bohlin unearthed a tooth that fall, and Black placed it in a gold locket on his watch chain.〔Swinton, W.E., (Physician contributions to nonmedical science: Davidson Black, our Peking Man ), Canadian Medical Association Journal 115(12):1251–1253, 18 December 1976; p. 1253.〕 Black published his analysis in the journal ''Nature'', identifying his find as belonging to a new species and genus which he named ''Sinanthropus pekinensis'', but many fellow scientists were skeptical about such an identification on the basis of a single tooth, and the foundation demanded more specimens before it would agree to grant additional money.〔(【引用サイトリンク】format=PDF )〕 A lower jaw, several teeth, and skull fragments were unearthed in 1928. Black presented these finds to the foundation and was rewarded with an $80,000 grant that he used to establish the Cenozoic Research Laboratory. Excavations at the site under the supervision of Chinese archaeologists Yang Zhongjian, Pei Wenzhong, and Jia Lanpo uncovered 200 human fossils (including six nearly complete skullcaps) from more than 40 individual specimens. These excavations came to an end in 1937 with the Japanese invasion. Excavations at Zhoukoudian resumed after the war. The Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987. New excavations were started at the site in June 2009. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Peking Man」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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