The Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site had further valuable research
potential, a leading Chinese scientist said at a recent celebration
of the 15th anniversary of the site's joining the UNESCO World
Heritage list.
Wu
Xinzhi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),said
that Zhoukoudian site was still the forefront of international
research for paleoanthropology, Paleolithic archeology and
geology.
The first skull of Peking Man dating back 500,000 years was
discovered at the site in Beijing's southwest suburbs in 1929.
Since then, the site has become the focus of international
prehistoric archeology and paleoanthropology circles.
The site held evidence of the earliest human's use of fire and was
known as the only site showing continuous prehistoric human
activity between 500,000 and 10,000 years ago.
Wu
said the Zhoukoudian Ruins had the richest materials of prehistoric
man in the world.
He
believed that even at the areas that were excavated, many useful
materials remain to be explored.
(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2002)