Acta Anthropologica Sinica ›› 2007, Vol. 26 ›› Issue (01): 34-44.

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Discussion on the paleoenvironment of the Peking Man Site

ZHANG Yue , TANG Zhuowei   

  • Online:2007-03-15 Published:2007-03-15

Abstract: There are many conclusions given about the paleoenvironment of the Peking Man site, which are usually based on three sources of evidence: sporopollen, fauna, and sediment. In this paper, different points of view are analyzed. For example, research on the sporopollen, by Kong Zhaochen is accepted by most scholars. However because of the different methods used for analyses of fauna and sediments, results of these studies are more controversial. A good example is the interpretation of the 7th layer at the Peking Man site. According to the evidence from sedimentation and from sporopollen, this layer is considered alternately wet and dry, however based on the faunal analysis the 7th layer is thought to only represent a wet period. It is believed that the former interpretation is correct because it is derived from sub2layer evidence, while the latter idea comes from the whole stratigraphic layer. Thus the conclusion drawn from the sedimentary layering and the sporopollen is more accurate than the one drawn from the faunal remains. Here is a list of the suggested paleoenvironments for each of the Peking Man site layers:
Layers 11—10    dry; expanded steppe;
Layers 9—8 warm and wet; expanded forest;
Layer 7 alternately dry and wet; dominant shrub steppe;
Layer 6 warm and wet; dominant forest;
Layer 5 warm and wet; dominant forest;
Layer 4 dry and cold; forest shrunk, and expanded steppe;
Layers 3—1 expanded steppe with climate change from cold and dry to warm and wet frequently.

Key words: Peking Man; Paleoenvironment; Sporopollen; Fauna; Sediment