The
Jinniushan Site is located on an isolated mountain eight kilometers south of
Dashiqiao in Yingkou County, Liaoning Province.
Rising about 70 meters above the sea level, the site contains three deposits
from the Fourth Age from west to east. During the four excavations carried out
between 1974 and 1978, a large number of animal fossils were unearthed along
with traces of fire pits, which included burnt bones, earth, charcoal scraps and
some chipped stone implements.
In September 1984, some human fossils and fire-pit traces were discovered at
the site. The more than 50 human fossils discovered include a nearly complete
skull, vertebra, rib, ulna and carpale -- all belonging to a recently matured
male. Stoneware unearthed at the Jinniushan Site was mainly made using hammering
and smashing techniques. The wares, including scraping and sharp-pointed tools,
have a processing technique and style resembling that of the Peking Man period.
An ash layer about 30 centimeters thick was also discovered at the site,
containing two sites of round ash heaps on the surface. Inside the heaps was
burnt clay and bones, including rabbits, mice and deer bones. Such animals were
frequently hunted by primitive humans of that period. The Jinniushan Site is
rich in animal fossils and human fossils and its geological age belongs to the
mid-Pleistocene Period.
The fossils of primitive humans are not only in large supply, but they are
also well preserved. Even the few existing damaged fossils can be restored to
their former states, guaranteeing the veracity of the archaeological study. This
was the first time that such complete human fossils were unearthed at a single
site in China, as well as in the world.
The Jinniushan Man dates back about 280,000 years and is considered more
advanced than the Peking Man (closer in intelligence to the Dali Man of the
early Homo Sapiens). The findings have provided new evidence for the study of
human physical development from primitive human to Homo
Sapiens.