Chinese archeologists recently began a three-month excavation and study of relics in the Nihewan (Muddy River Bay) area which is believed to be the home of the earliest human inhabitants of East Asia.
These ancient people may have lived some 1.9 million years ago in the Nihewan area of Yangyuan and Weixian counties in Hebei Province, over 100 kilometers north of Beijing, according to archeologists from the provincial cultural relics administration.
Last year, local archeologists undertook some preliminary research in the area and uncovered over 800 stone tools and animal bones believed to be left by the ancient hunters.
Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have been invited to join this year's excavation.
(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2002)
