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Re-excavation of the Peking man site at Zhoukoudian was initiated in 2009. A taphonomic analysis of the skeletal remains of Cervus ( Sika ) grayi , a dominant species from Layer 3 of the extant West Section of the site strongly negates a role played by hominins in the accumulation and modification of the bones. Instead, it is argued here that some individuals of this medium-sized deer species were probably trapped in the cave by accident and eventually preserved in situ in the Quaternary sediments. The virtual absence of stone artifacts and human skeletal remains from the 2009–2010 field seasons has further strengthened this conclusion. Bearing in mind evidence of a series of cave collapse episodes, we tentatively propose that the cave morphology during the formation of Layer 3 at the West Section was probably inhospitable to Homo erectus pekinensis . [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of the Middle to Upper Palaeolithic transition has been hotly debated for many years, but East Asia has not been a significant part of that debate until recently. The Shuidonggou (SDG) site complex, yielding Initial Upper Paleolithic (IUP) blade-rich assemblages, has been given more and more importance since its discovery and first excavation in the 1920s. This paper presents a specific study of the archaeological remains yielded by three years of systematic, modern excavations at Shuidonggou locality 7 (SDG7), an important locality within the SDG site cluster. Although the archaeological deposits of SDG7 had undergone some hydraulic disturbances, detailed lithic analyses identified two distinct technological systems. One is termed autochthonous and is a predominantly flake-tool technology, and the other is an allochthonous Levallois-like technology which coexisted within the same Lower Concentrated Layer for some time before disappearing, implying the potential existence of technological diffusion and interaction between the two different technologies. The technological variability and change suggested by the evidence from SDG7 reveal a kind of cultural mosaic, rather than the replacement of one lithic technology by another. We believe the new round of excavations and research in the SDG site will provide more evidence for answering key questions about the process of the Middle–Upper Paleolithic transition in North China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few sites in China have yielded definite evidence for a complex bone technology. In this paper, we present a detailed description and an integrated techno-functional study of seven bone needles from Shuidonggou locality 12 dated to 12.2–11.0 ka BP in North China. Tool production processes conforming to the classic descriptions of formal techniques, including scraping, grinding, perforating, polishing and occasionally heat-treating were streamlined to process osseous materials at this site. In Shuidonggou locality 12, the bone needles manufactured accordingly were used to produce sophisticated and fitted clothing, which helps to counter winter subsistence risk, until they were very blunt or broken or no more appropriate for use, and then were discarded in situ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mysterious loss of five calvaria of Homo erectus and three skulls of Homo sapiens sapiens , unearthed from Zhoukoudian, a world cultural heritage site, during World War II is a great loss for paleoanthropological research. Although frontal and occipital bones of Homo erectus were unearthed in 1966, additional important human fossils cannot be found due to the fact that most of the fossil-bearing deposits were removed in early diggings at ZKD Locality 1, the so-called Peking Man Site. From 1995 to 2004, a series of in situ geological and geophysical investigations using electromagnetic, electric panel, magnetic, microgravity, electric tomograms, surface seismic waves, ground penetrating radar, and test drilling methods, were conducted on Dragon Bone Hill, where the Peking Man Site is located. Here, we report that some geophysical anomalies have been clearly detected and there are still significant deposits suitable for archaeological excavations in hidden cavities in the hill, which demonstrate how some civil engineering methods can be employed for archaeological purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]