Time Line of Human Evolution in China (Homo erectus - Premodern H. sapiens)

(Click on selected drawings to access specimen information)

Chinese Fossil Hominid Timeline Xujiayao has produced a number of fragmentary  cranial elements of an advanced form of pre-modern  H. sapiens. It is date to approximately 100 KYA. The Dali cranium is nearly complete. The upper jaw  has been dislocated upwards. Dali represents a  premodern form of H. sapiens. It is dated to   approximately 180 KYA. The Jinniushan specimen is associated with a partial  skeleton, including a nearly complete pelvis. Its  robusticity led investigators to assume it was a male,  but more recently it has been considered a female. It  has been dated to approximately 250 KY The fragmentary Yiyuan remains, from Shandong  province are very similar in overall character to  those from Zhoukoudian. Dated to the Middle  Pleistocene (~400 KYA). The famous H. erectus remains of Maba represents a premodern form of H. sapiens. It   was the first such cranium found in China in 1958.  Its dated to approximately 150 KYA. The Hexian cranium represents a form of H. erectus  somewhat distinct from that at Zhoukoudian. Recent  dating suggests it is older than first thought, perhaps   in excess of 300 KYA. The most recent find of H. erectus in China, the   Nanjing cranium seems to date to approximately   400KYA, contemporaneous with Peking Man with   which it shows a great deal of morphological affinities. One of the few complete lower jaws from the Middle  Pleistocene of China, the Chenjiawo specimen is   date to about 560 KYA. The Yunxian crania, although crushed and distorted  to varying degrees, are the most complete specimens  of H. erectus known in Asia. They have recently  been dated to between 600-800 KYA, considerably  older than initial estimates. Although the Gongwangling cranium from Lantian is  located north of the Qingling Mts. that devide north  and south China, it was associated with a warm  whether fauna. The Lantian cranium is the most  primitive and oldest (800 KYA-1.15 MYA) H .erectus  k