-
Chapter 2 Tianyuandong: The Cave, Its Context,and Its Contents
- Texas A&M University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
4 C h a p t e r 2 Tianyuandong: The Cave, Its Context, and Its Contents The Site ofTianyuandong TIANYUANDONG, OR Tianyuan Cave, is a small cave situated at the base of a modest exposed limestone cliff, high on the south side of a small valley (Figure 2-1). It is located on the domain of the Tianyuan Tree Farm of Huangshandian village, which is part of Zhoukoudian town, in the Fangshan district of Beijing (39° 39′ 28″ N, 115° 52′ 17″ E) (Figure 2-2). It is approximately 6 km southwest of the classic Homo erectus site of Zhoukoudian Locality 1 and its adjacent Late Pleistocene Upper Cave site. Located 174.5 m above sea level, with its opening oriented to the northwest, it is the highest Paleolithic site in the Zhoukoudian district. The cave has an irregularly shaped surface area; it deviates to the right from the entrance and then curves around to the left in the portion farthest from the entrance (Figure 2-3). The cave is approximately 6 m deep and 6 to 7 m wide, and all portions of it remain within daylight. The small cave is located in the southwest margin of Yanshan Inner Block Tectonic Belt of the North China Platform (Li et al., 2008). It formed within the carbonatite of Jixian System of the Middle Precambrian (Proterozoic). There is a well-developed fold and proximate grade fault in the bedrock, as well as vein intrusion and schistosity, which combine to provide many different forms of passages in the rock. This formation also increases the water permeability, and it forms the basis of the karst system. Tianyuan Cave itself was formed by the fracture water dissolution along the vein and joint fractures , with a vertical vadose zone in the rock. The karstic process continues, such that the back wall has a cascade of calcite formations, and stalactites and stalagmites are still forming in the rainy season. It was this characteristic that led members of the Tianyuan Tree Farm to seek water within the cave. In front of the cave, there is a small terrace (Figure 2-4). In front of the terrace Figure 2-1. Panoramic view of the limestone massif rising above the Tianyuan Tree Farm. The location of the Tianyuan Cave (Tianyuandong) is indicated by the arrow. Figure 2-2. The Beijing area, with the Zhoukoudian area in the inset. Location of Tianyuan Cave is indicated by the arrow in lower left of inset; Zhoukoudian Peking Man Site, by the arrow on right. Modified from Tong, Shang, et al. (2004). [3.237.0.123] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 14:12 GMT) CHAPTER 2 6 the modern landscape descends rapidly for a short distance and then slopes more gradually to the valley below (Figure 2-1). Modern access to the cave is along the cliff base to the left of the entrance Discovery and Excavation The paleontological nature of the site was first discovered in June 2001, when the owners of the Tianyuan Tree Farm (Xiumei Tian and members of her family) were searching for sources of water in the limestone formations. They found and removed an abundance of bones and teeth, including faunal remains and portions Figure 2-3. Horizontal plan and distribution of bones, teeth, and human remains in Tianyuan Cave. The human remains were clustered in squares I10 and I11 and into the margins of the adjacent squares. Modified from Tong, Shang, et al. (2004). TIANYUANDONG: THE CAVE, ITS CONTEXT, AND ITS CONTENTS 7 of a human skeleton. Realizing that the bones and teeth might be of interest, they brought the remains to the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. The IVPP organized a project team to excavate Tianyuan Cave under the direction of Haowen Tong of the IVPP; systematic excavations took place during 2003 and 2004 (Tong, Liu, et al., 2004; Tong, Shang, et al., 2004). The deposits were excavated in arbitrary levels of 20-cm thickness, which were divided into 5-cm sublevels. After the landowners had dug for water, the remaining deposits varied in thickness. The sediments to bedrock were no more than 40 cm thick in the deep left recess of the cave (squares J10 and J11); they became substantially thicker toward the entrance (Figure 2-5). The excavation at the entrance (square G8) reached a depth of 1 m, but the deposits continued farther in that portion of the cave. The sediment is...