What is the Peking Man?

A homo erectus species, Peking Man fossils were discovered between 1929 and 1937 in the Lower Cave at the Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian, near Beijing, in China. They included 14 partial craniums, 11 lower jaws, teeth, some skeletal bones and many stone tools. Archaeologists date them between 500,000 and 300,000 years old. A number of fossils of modern humans were also discovered in the Upper Cave at the same site in 1933. The most complete fossils were brain cases or skullcaps, and were studied by Davidson Black, and later, Franz Weidenreich. The original fossils disappeared in 1941 while being shipped to the United States for safety during World War II, and ever since, other erectus fossils have been found at this site and others in China. Though the Peking Man fossils are believed to be those of apes recent research claims they were humans.