Yuanmou Man

For more information, click here. Or, Try these sources:

• Li, Pu; Chien, Fang; Ma, Hsing-Hua; Pu, Ching-Yu; Hsing, Li-Sheng; Chu, Shih-Chiang (1977). "Preliminary study on the age of Yuanmou man by palaeomagnetic technique". Scientia Sinica. 20 (5): 645–64. Can be read here.

• Geoffrey G. Pope. Evidence on the Age of the Asian Hominidae Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (1983). Can be read here.

Yuanmou Man, Homo erectus yuanmouensis, refers to a member of the Homo genus whose remnants, two incisors, were discovered near Danawu Village in Yuanmou County in southwestern province of Yunnan, China. Later, stone artifacts, pieces of animal bone showing signs of human work and ash from campfires were also dug up from the site. The fossils are on display at the National Museum of China, Beijing. The remnants of Yuanmou Man were discovered on May 1, 1965, by the geologist Fang Qian, who was working for the Geological Mechanics Research Institute. Based on the palaeomagnetic dating of the rock they were found in, it was initially estimated that the fossils were about 1.7 Ma BP and thus represented the earliest fossils of human ancestors found in China and East Asia. It was once thought to be possibly predated by "Wushan Man", but that has turned out to be a stem-orangutan (Ponginae).

• Ciochon RL. (2009). The mystery ape of Pleistocene Asia. Nature. 459: 910-911. doi:10.1038/459910a. This piece in Nature is based on a contribution to the forthcoming book Out of Africa I: Who, When and Where? (eds, Fleagle, J. G. et al. Springer, 2009) Can be read here.