Chinese and French scientists revealed their research result after joint archaeological excavation at northwest Hubei's "Yunxian Man" site. The discovery rewrites the conclusion drawn by Western learners that "China did not have hand axes in the Old Stone Age".

Western learners have all held that hand axes appeared in Africa dating back 1.5 million years ago, and in Europe 500,000 years ago. They deem that in ancient human being study, no hand axes were found in ancient Chinese ancestors' fossils even among those of the "Yuanmou Man," "Lantian Man" and "Peking Man."

Harvard learners drafted a cultural line in the 1930s in terms of hand axes in the Old Stone Age, that is, Africa, western Europe, southwest Asia and south India are classified into hand axes culture region, China and eastern Asia are drawn out of the hand axes culture region.

However, the "Yunxian Man" site in Hubei, and the excavations of two erect human skull fossils and a large number of mammal animal fossils denied the saying.

According to Feng Xiaobo, researcher of Hubei Archaeological Research Institute, although only nine hand axes were discovered in China, it has great significance.

Feng said that those axes do not pale compared with those excavated in Europe 300,000 years ago, thus strongly demonstrating that stone-cutting tool technology had reached a certain level at that time.

Since 1989, a lot of cultural relics have been unearthed at the "Yunxian Man" site, especially the well-kept erect human skull fossils, which have aroused great interest among learners.

Experts have ascertained that "Yunxian Man" belongs to the later period erect man by scanning technology.

Since 1998, France State Nature Museum began to cooperate with China on hand axes and "Yunxian Man" studies. Curator of the museum said that researches on the "Yunxin Man" and hand axes show that human beings lived in China at a very early time and appearance of those stone tools were earlier than those in Europe.

( July 4, 2002)