Abstract
Early Man in China. Further researches and discoveries at Choukoutien, the site of discovery of Peking man, are described in three recent communications to the Geological Society of China. Messrs. Ralph W. Chaney and Lyman H. Daugherty deal with the occurrence of Cercis in association with the remains of Sinanthropus (Bull. 12, No. 3). Fragments of charred wood pointing to the use of fire by Peking man have been identified as a new species of Cercis, a member of the family of Leguminosse. In honour of the late Davidson Black it is named specifically Blackii; but it is sufficiently akin to C. chinensis, common in Chili Province, to suggest the probability that the climate in Peking man's day was much as it is now. P. Teilhard de Chardin and Dr. W. C. Pei report on discoveries in 1933-34 at Choukoutien (Bull. 13, No. 3) which, while not altering previous conclusions, add distinctness to precedent views on the stratigraphy and physiography of late Cenozoic times in north China. It is now apparent that the Lower Pleistocene, unknown for so long, is one of the most important Cenozoic formations in north China. New localities in the form of pockets have been opened up which make it possible to distinguish five, or even six, stages, instead of the three sedimentary units and the single fossiliferous horizon (Sinanthropus beds) previously differentiated. A preliminary report on the late palaeolithic cave is presented by Dr. W. C. Pei (Bull. 13, No. 4) in which the archaeological and palaeontological finds are described. Five cultural layers were found. Three human skulls and a large series of other human bones were discovered and among the artefacts 28 perforated teeth (canines) of fox or badger, which by their juxtaposition suggest the use of teeth as a necklace. As possibly younger than the remains of southern Ordos and older than Hailar, a tentative dating as equivalent to Mag-dalenian man in Europe is suggested.
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Research Items. Nature 135, 347–349 (1935). https://doi.org/10.1038/135347a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/135347a0