Knowra Nanjing Man Nanjing Man Nanjing Man is a collection of Homo erectus fossil remains discovered at Hulu Cave near Nanjing, China, and dated to roughly 580,000–620,000 years ago.
Homo erectus : An extinct human species that lived across Africa and Eurasia for nearly two million years. Nanjing Man is classified within this widespread, long-lived human species.
Middle Pleistocene : The interval from about 774,000 to 129,000 years ago within the Pleistocene epoch. The estimated age of Nanjing Man places it within this interval.
Zhoukoudian : A cave complex near Beijing containing extensive Middle Pleistocene Homo erectus fossils and archaeological remains. Its much larger fossil record offers a regional comparison for Hulu Cave.
Human fossil record : The collection of preserved human and hominin remains used to reconstruct human evolution. Nanjing Man is one fragmentary entry in an uneven regional record.
Hulu Cave : A cave site near Nanjing, China, that yielded Pleistocene human and animal fossils. Its deposits preserve the remains that define Nanjing Man.
Paleontology : The scientific study of ancient life through fossils and their geological context. The fossils and cave deposits are investigated through paleontological methods.
Hexian Man : Homo erectus fossils discovered in Hexian County, Anhui, China, and dated to the Middle Pleistocene. This nearby Chinese fossil locality helps compare regional Homo erectus populations.
Hominin taxonomy : The classification of living and extinct species on the human evolutionary lineage. Researchers must decide how Nanjing Man fits among named Homo groups.
Pleistocene : A geological epoch lasting from about 2.58 million to 11,700 years ago, marked by repeated ice ages. Nanjing Man lived during this epoch's Middle Pleistocene.
Uranium-series dating : A radiometric dating method that uses uranium decay products to estimate the age of carbonate materials. Dating cave deposits helps constrain the age of the fossil-bearing layers.
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