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Palaeolithic site with numerous human fossils, including 'Peking man', found in cave deposits of c 400,000-700,000 years ago. Over 40 individuals are represented; this has become one of the two fossil populations on which Homo erectus is based. In 1941, when the Japanese were about to attack Beijing, the fossils were packed for transport to the U.S., but disappeared; only casts have survived. New investigations have found more skulls and parts, and a pollen sequence is known. Primitive flake tools have been found, along with traces of fire. Remains of Homo sapiens sapiens are the first human burials in the East Asian archaeological record.