Jinniushan site

Jinniushan site

Jinniu Mountain site is located in the West Jinniu Mountain of Xitian village, Yong'an Town, Dashiqiao City, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province. Jinniu Mountain is an isolated hill rising from the ground on the coastal plain in the middle of Liaodong Peninsula, with an altitude of 69.3 meters, a perimeter of 1240 meters and an area of about 0.308 square kilometers. There is a large karst cave in the south of Shandong Province. It is an ancient human settlement 260000 years ago. It is one of the earliest Paleolithic sites in Northeast China

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The cultural characteristics of Jinniushan site are similar to those of Peking man, which indicates that the primitive culture of Liaoning area is closely related to Peking man. The Jinniushan site is very important for us to understand the human life at that time and the use of caves

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On January 13, 1988, the Jinniushan site was announced by the State Council of the people's Republic of China as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units

. In April 1995, Jinniushan site was listed as the patriotic education base by Yingkou Municipal People's government

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Historical evolution

In the Paleolithic age (about 260000 years ago), the ancient human, Jinniushan people, appeared in the Jinniushan site

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During the Japanese occupation of Northeast China (1930s), 14 species of mammal fossils were found at the Jinniushan site

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In 1945, animal fossils were found in the Jinniushan site

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In 1972, the Jinniushan site was discovered during the general survey of cultural relics in Liaoning Province

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Since 1974, archaeologists from Liaoning Province, cultural relics department of Yingkou City, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Department of archaeology, Peking University and other scientific research institutions have carried out the excavation of Jinniu Mountain

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In 1984, a team of Archaeology Department of Peking University of China discovered a number of rare fossils of ancient human beings and living surfaces at Jinniushan site, and a large number of animal fossils were unearthed at the same layer

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Site features

The bedrock of Jinniushan site is composed of dolomitic marble, limestone, argillaceous slate, mica schist with magnesite and other rocks of Dashiqiao formation of Liaohe Group in pre Sinian. The stratigraphic trend and geological structure are complex. Four quaternary accumulation sections, numbered a, B, C and D, are found on the mountain. A large number of animal fossils and human fossils come from cave a.

The cave at point a is located in the east of the mountain. Because the local villagers have been digging the mountain for many years, the original style of the cave has been destroyed, the top of the cave has collapsed, and the southern wall remains. The hole faces east, with a remnant width of 5 meters and a height of 15 meters. The cultural layer excavated in the cave is 13.5 meters thick, and the accumulation can be divided into eight layers. Above the fourth layer is brown yellow sandy clay with calcareous cemented breccia, and late Pleistocene mammal fossils are unearthed. Below the fifth layer is brown red silty sand with large breccia cemented layer. A batch of ancient animal fossils are unearthed, which can be divided into upper and lower groups. The accumulation property of the upper group can be compared with that of Malan Loess in North China. The animal fossils are red deer, corner antelope, cave bear, etc. the age of uranium series method is 160000-200000 years. The accumulation property of the lower group can be compared with that of Zhoukoudian Peking man cave The main fossil species are Brandt's vole, beaver, wolf, raccoon dog, Sanmen horse, rhinoceros Mayi, wild boar Li, stag, saber toothed tiger, Macaca mulatta, etc. the age of uranium series dating is 200000-310000 years, the age of human fossil horizon is 260000 years ago, and the geological age is the late middle Pleistocene.

All the materials of Jinniushan human fossils come from the bottom of the seventh layer, within 1.6 square meters near the south wall about 2 meters. Judging from the fact that human fossils were found on the same level, with the same color and the same articular surface of wrist and tarsal bones, all the fossils belong to the same individual. According to the characteristics of large and strong skull, muscle ridge development, indistinct nodules, strong teeth and the degree of skull suture healing and tooth wear, the Jinniushan man is a 20-year-old woman

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Cultural relics

In 1975, 1976 and 1978, Liaoning Provincial Museum, Yingkou Municipal Bureau of culture and Dashiqiao Municipal Bureau of culture excavated Jinniushan site for three times, and found a large number of paleontological fossils, Paleolithic and human fire relics. A total of more than 30 stone tools were found, most of which were made of gangue, mainly scrapers and sharp objects, which were processed by hammering and smashing methods Yes. There are single blade, double blade and semicircular scrapers with smaller types; more than 50 pieces of skull, spine, ulna, hip, wrist, foot and toe; 76 species of mammal fossils such as stag, saber toothed tiger and wolf; and 11 species of reptile and bird fossils, with a total of 87 species and more than 1000 pieces

In the same strata as human fossils, a 20 cm thick ash layer was also found. The ash pile is relatively concentrated and round, containing a large number of burnt bones and soil blocks, indicating that Jinniushan people used fire for a long time

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A relatively complete fossil human bone was found at the bottom of the sixth layer of cave a in Jinniu Mountain. Its skull features are very similar to those of Peking man, but the brow ridge is not as thick as Peking man, the bone wall is also thinner, the skull is 206 mm long, 148 mm wide, 123 mm high, the brain volume is 1335 ml, and the frontal bone inclination is 43 degrees. It belongs to early Homo sapiens

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Research value

From the observation of human skull morphology in Jinniushan site, it can be seen that there are not only the progressive characteristics of early Homo sapiens, but also the primitive characteristics similar to Peking man. In the stage of human development, it is in the transition stage from Homo erectus to early Homo sapiens. Human fossils of this stage are extremely rare both in China and abroad. The discovery of Jinniushan site is of great significance to the study of human walking gait and hand flexibility in the process of development from ape to human, and the physical characteristics of human in the transitional stage. The discovery of Jinniushan human fossils is of great significance not only to study the physical characteristics of ancient human beings, but also to explore the ability of human beings to transform nature at that time, that is, to study the early history of human beings. At the same time, it also has great academic value to study the transformation of Homo erectus to early Homo sapiens

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protective measures

In 1979, Jinniushan site was announced as the second batch of provincial key cultural relics protection units by Liaoning Provincial Revolutionary Committee

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On January 13, 1988, the Jinniushan site was announced by the State Council of the people's Republic of China as the third batch of national key cultural relics protection units

In the same year, the cultural relic protection scope and construction control zone announced by Liaoning Provincial People's government were as follows: 150 meters in the South and north of the Jinniu Mountain wall and outside the wall, 50 meters in the east of the wall, 15 meters in the west to the Changda railway; outside the protection scope, 200 meters in the West was class 1 construction control zone, 1000 meters in the South and North were class 2 construction control zone, and the rural road from laohada highway to Jinniu Mountain in the East was 5 Construction control zone

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In 1992, the Jinniushan site exhibition hall was established, and the rhinoceros sign on the top of the mountain, the road around the mountain, the lotus pool, the wall, the greening and other projects were officially opened to the public

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In 2005, Dashiqiao Municipal People's government established the Jinniushan site museum

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In 2014, the people's Government of Dashiqiao City successively carried out the cave protection shed project at site a, cave rescue and reinforcement project at site C, and dangerous rock reinforcement and other protection projects

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History and culture

archaic Chinese

Jinniushan site is a precious ancient human cultural heritage. In October 1984, Professor Lu Zune of the school of archaeology, culture and Museum of Peking University excavated ancient human fossils in Jinniushan, which was named "Jinniushan man". The complete excavation of Jinniushan people is of great scientific research value for the study of the development, deepening, origin and distribution of ancient human beings, as well as the physical characteristics, paleogeography and Paleoclimate of ape man and Homo sapiens. It is listed as one of the top ten scientific and technological progress projects in the world

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Tourism information

geographical position

Jinniushan site is located in West Jinniushan, Xitian village, Yong'an Town, Dashiqiao City, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province

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traffic

Dashiqiao City - Zhenxing middle road - hada South Road - Jinniu Mountain site.

Address: Dashiqiao south, Zhanqian District, Yingkou City, Liaoning Province

Longitude: 122.44782655873

Latitude: 40.588647075776

Tel: 0417-7194128