Module 6 The World’s Cultural HeritagePart 1 The Amazing Caves of ZhoukoudianZhoukoudian is a small village about 50 kilometres south-west of Beijing. Inthe 1920s, archaeologists discovered some prehistoric human bones there which changed China’s kn owledge of its history. They came from an unknown species ofman and were the first evidence of primitive human life in China thousands of yearsago. The remains were … three teeth!In 1929, a complete skull was also discovered. Eventually, archaeologists found almost 200 items, including six skulls and more than 150 teeth. These discoveries proved the existence of a human species who lived in the area between 700,000 and200,000 years ago.Four sites where Beijing Man and his relations lived were discovered on the northern face of Dragon Bone Hill (Longgushan). They lived in the limestone cavesin the area.However, the life span of Beijing Man was short. About 70% of the people probably died before the age of 14. fewer than 5% lived to the age of 50. Even so,they were quite sophisticated. Ashes were found alongside the fossils which showedthey used fire for cooling food and also for light, warmth and protection from wild beasts. This is the earliest evidence of the use fire anywhere in the world. They alsomade tools of bones and sharpened stones. Unfortunately, when Japan invadedChina in 1937, excavations at the Beijing Man Site stopped and most of the fossils disappeared, including a Beijing Man skull. They have never been found. After the people’s Republic of China was established in 1949, the work started again and Zhoukoudian became an important tourist attraction.Zhoukoudian was listed as a world heritage site in December 1987. It has notonly given us important information about prehistoric Asian societies, but also has provided amazing evidence about the process of evolution.惊人的周口店山顶洞周口店是位于北京西南约50公里的一个小村庄。
