Zhoukoudian
Exhibit Item
Nickname:
Peking Man
Site:
Zhoukoudian, China
Age:
Between 780,000 and 400,000 years old
Species:
Homo erectus
This composite skull combines several skulls from the same site, first named Sinanthropus pekingensis but later attributed to Homo erectus. The original fossils vanished while being shipped to the United States for safety during World War II, but scientists still have high-quality casts and descriptions to work with.