Evidence of Fire Use by Homo erectus pekinensis: An XRD Study of Archaeological Bones From Zhoukoudian Locality 1, China

Chao Huang,Xing Gao,Jingshu Li

doi:10.3389/feart.2021.811319

Abstract

Zhoukoudian Locality 1 is well known both for the discovery of Homo erectus fossils and for the presence of early evidence of controlled use of fire by hominins; However, the nature of the latter had been seriously questioned since mid-1980s. To obtain substantial evidence of fire use by hominins, we combine macroscopic observations and XRD analysis on 23 fossil bones from new excavations in Layers 4 and 5. The crystalline index shows that at least 15 fossil bones were heated above 600°C, and this is partly consistent with macroscopic observations. The high intensity burning of bones may indicate strong evidence of hominin-controlled use of fire at Layer 4. Future work should focus on archaeological materials from lower layers to improve our understanding of the nature of colored bones and gain more solid evidence of fire use by early humans at Zhoukoudian.

Highlights

Zhoukoudian Locality 1, situated about 50 km southwest of Beijing, China, (Figure 1), has been well known since the 1920s for the discovery of a large number of Homo erectus pekinensis fossils and thousands of stone artifacts
From 1980s to the beginning of this century, based on information derived from taphonomy, geochemistry and spatial analysis, scholars have begun to doubt the evidence of in situ burning at the site and further the notion that Homo erectus pekinensis had the ability to control fire (Binford et al, 1985; Binford et al, 1986; Weiner et al, 1998; Goldberg et al, 2001; Boaz et al, 2004)
In a recent excavation campaign conducted at Zhoukoudian Locality 1 since 2009, burned sediments and roughly one hundred of burned bones have again been unearthed from the site (Gao et al, 2016; Gao et al, 2017)

Summary

Introduction

Zhoukoudian Locality 1, situated about 50 km southwest of Beijing, China, (Figure 1), has been well known since the 1920s for the discovery of a large number of Homo erectus pekinensis fossils and thousands of stone artifacts. Some burned items were uncovered from the site, such as charcoal, stones and bones and they were widely accepted as the oldest reliable evidence of hominin use and maintenance of fire in the world (Black, 1931; Pei, 1934). By analyzing soil samples sourced during the new excavations in Layer 4, Zhong et al (2013) detected siliceous aggregates which provided compelling evidence of the in situ use of fire by hominins at the site. By analyzing soil samples sourced during the new excavations in Layer 4, Zhong et al (2013) detected siliceous aggregates which provided compelling evidence of the in situ use of fire by hominins at the site. Zhang et al (2014) analyzed the sediment from the same Layer by

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Conclusion