Human remains and the environment of Early Pleistocene in the Nihewan Basin

Abstract

A new Early Pleistocene Paleolithic site was found in July 2001 in the Nihewan Basin, Hebei Province. Totally 500 mammal specimens assigned to 21 species and 5 lithic artifacts were collected. The coexistence of Allophaiomys deucalion , Borsodia chinensis and Yangia tingi provides important evidence of chronology. On the basis of the comparison of mammalian fauna, the date of Paleolithic artifacts is probably earlier than 1.8 MaBP, possibly 2.0 MaBP. This is the earliest evidence of hominid activity found so far in North China. The hominid at that time in the Nihewan Basin lived in an environment of arid grasslands with scattered trees of temperate zone. This discovery is significant to the study of human origin and cultural development.