China is not only a country with a long
history of ancient civilization, but also one of the birthplace of the human race
throughtout the world. China ranks first in the number of human fossils and cultural
sites dating from the Paleolithic Period, among which Yuanmou Human, Lantian Human,
Peking Human and Upper Cave Human are the most important.
In December 1987, Peking Human site at Zhoukoudian where Peking Human's crania were
found was added to the World Cultural Heritage List by the UNESCO.
Reference data
The Paleolithic Period
This period is so named in accordance with the stone vessels they used - primitive
human used stones to make chipped stone vessels. The paleothilic Period lasted for
two to three million years. People then lived by picking up wild fruits, hunting
and fishing together.
The Neolithic Period
Starting from around 8,000 to 9,000 years age, primitive people already used new
kinds of stone artifacts - that were ground out rather than chipped, hence the period
termed "Neolithic Period". The new stone artifacts were more sophisticated and handier,
greatly improving the level of production and life style. It was during the Neolithic
Period and agriculture and animal husbandry appeared.
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