Protected Sites:Site of Hexian Ape Man

The Site of Hexian ape man is located on the northern slope of Jiangjia Mountain in Taodian Town, Hexian County of Anhui Province.

The site was the deposit of the Cambrian limestone cave where two excavations were carried out in October 1980 and June 1981. Discoveries included a human fossil skull, a section of a mandible, a top bone, an upper frontal bone, 11 molars and a frontal tooth. It was concluded that the fossils belonged to at least three ape men and the skull belonged to a young male who exhibited many typical features of Homo Erectus. The skull of the Hexian Man is generally similar to that of the Peking Man, but a little more advanced. This suggests that Hexian Man lived in the period of late Peking Man.

Moreover, a large number of vertebrate fossils were also unearthed along with the human fossils. According to initial studies, the animal fossils amounted to over 50 species belonging to the Pleistocene Period.

The discovery of Hexian Man provides important materials for the study into the origin and development of human beings, as well as comparing the similarities and differences between primitive humans of the south and the north.