Yingkou Jinniushan Site: A 260,000-Year Legacy That Fills a Critical Gap in Human Evolution

Publicity Department of the CPC Yingkou Municipal Committee

YINGKOU, China, April 7, 2026 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/--

The Jinniushan Site in Xitian Village, Yong'an Town, Dashiqiao City, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province, is an early Paleolithic ancient cave site dating back approximately 260,000 years. In 2021, it was named one of "China's Top 100 Archaeological Discoveries in the Past 100 Years".

The site was discovered during a cultural relics survey conducted in Liaoning in 1972. In September 1984, an archaeological team from Peking University unearthed a remarkably complete fossilized skeleton of an ancient human in Cave A at the site. The specimen comprises over 50 pieces of cranial and vertebral bones, belonging to a young female estimated to be 20-22 years old, with an estimated cranial capacity of about 1,335-1,390 milliliters. The "Jinniushan Man" exhibits both the advanced features of early Homo sapiens and the primitive characteristics of Peking Man, representing a transitional phase from Homo erectus to early Homo sapiens. Fossils from this stage are rare both in China and around the world, filling a critical gap in human evolution and holding great significance for the study of human evolutionary history.

Source: Publicity Department of the CPC Yingkou Municipal Committee