World Atlas Core Records · Evolution

Zhoukoudian

c. 770,000-10,000 years ago, many phases · China

Caves at Zhoukoudian preserve Homo erectus remains, stone artifacts, animal bones and later Homo sapiens occupation across a long sequence.

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AI-generated evidence-guided visualization related to Zhoukoudian, c. 770,000-10,000 years ago, many phases. — AI-generated visualization based on the cited record and period context. It is not documentary evidence or an authenticated reconstruction of a single event.

How the setting appeared

Karst caves overlooked changing temperate woodland and steppe environments near water and raw stone.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Setting and material context · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people lived

Different human populations used the caves intermittently; they did not form one continuous community.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Lifeways and community · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

How people worked

Flake and core tools changed through the sequence; claims about controlled fire require layer-specific evaluation.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Work, tools and exchange · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Belief, ritual and worship

No evidence supports reconstructing a named religion for the early occupations.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Belief, ritual and evidence limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

World-atlas stage: Early Homo
Region: East Asia · China
Languages and scripts: Not named in this record
Important people: No individual is centered in this record
Events and changes: Homo erectus remains and associated stone artifacts accumulated at Zhoukoudian Locality 1 during multiple Middle Pleistocene phases, broadly c. 770,000-230,000 years ago.; Later Homo sapiens remains were deposited at Upper Cave during the Late Pleistocene, broadly c. 34,000-10,000 years ago.; Scientific excavations began in the 1920s CE, and the first well-known skullcap attributed to Peking Man was recovered in 1929 CE.; Most original Peking Man fossils disappeared during transport in 1941 CE; casts, records and later finds remain central to study.; Evidence for fire use at Locality 1 continues to be evaluated layer by layer and should not be treated as one uncontested event.
Evidence confidence: High for fossils and artifacts; behavior, fire evidence and exact layer dates remain actively studied.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Dates, place, language, people, events and confidence · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Historical geography

A dated anchor, not an exact border

The local map uses modern coastlines only for orientation. The marker identifies this record's geographic anchor, not the full reach of a community or polity.

Map geometry loads only when requested. Modern outlines are orientation only; historical geography and identities changed through time.

Agent citation CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIANCIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN Historical-geography anchor and stated limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812

Evidence register

Guides used for this record

Each registered source ID is paired with its institutional URL for independent checking. Source count is transparent, and duplicate URLs count only once.

CIT-CORE-ZHOUKOUDIAN

Zhoukoudian: record evidence guide

https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/449/

whc.unesco.org

CIT-CORE136-ZHOUKOUDIAN-SMITHSONIAN

Zhoukoudian

https://humanorigins.si.edu/evidence/human-fossils/fossils/zhoukoudian

Smithsonian Institution Human Origins Program

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