Ancient human culture
There are romantic interpretations of the origin of human beings in both China and the West. The Chinese nation believes that the ancient goddess Nuwa kneaded the earth and formed people, and gave people the soul with her immortal spirit, while the Western “Adam and Eve” legend is also a standing dish.
In the scientific sense, the “human origin from Africa” advocated by the Western academic circle once influenced the cognition of the origin of ancient humans in China.
It was not until 1989 and 1990 that two well-preserved skull fossils of Homo erectus were unearthed in Xuetang Liangzi area along the Quyuan River in Qingqu, Yunyang District, Shiyan City. Later, they were identified as ancient human fossils, dating back to about 1 million years ago. They were the direct ancestors of Asian humans and were named “Yunxian Man.” Thus, they were honored the “most valuable among all national treasures.”
The discovery of the skulls of “Yunxian Man” caused a great sensation at home and abroad, almost directly overturning the Western conclusion that “human is originated from Africa.” The discovery of these two skulls was listed as the top achievement among the ten major archaeological discoveries in both China and the international world in 1990, and was written into the history textbooks by many countries. The discovery of “Yunxian Man” was selected as one of the world’s 50 important scientific achievements by the US magazine Discovery in January, 1993.
In May 2022, a new ancient human skull, “Yunxian Man No.3,” was discovered at the Xuetang Liangzi Site in Shiyan City. This is the most complete Homo erectus skull fossil of its time ever found in inland Eurasia. It is about one million years ago, and it is in the middle and key link of the evolution of the hominids in Eurasia in nearly two million years. It is an important fossil evidence to discuss the emergence and development of human in East Asia, and demonstrates the million-year history of human species in China.
Beginning with the discovery of “Yunxian Meipu Man” in Meipu Township, Yunyang District in 1975, “Yunxi Bailongdong Man”, “Yunxi Huanglongdong Man” and “Yunxian Man” dating back one million years were successively discovered in Shiyan. With the in-depth study on the ancient human culture in Shiyan, it has been discovered that the Xuetang Liangzi Site, the Meipu Site, the Huanglongdong Site and the Bailongdong Site all belong to the Paleolithic Age, indicating that ancient humans flourished and lived in Shiyan in remote antiquity.
It can be seen that Shiyan is worthy of being one of the birthplaces of ancient humans in China and a veritable “displaying corridor of ancient humans.”
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