Wuzhutai Early Homo sapiens Site

Wuzhutai Early Homo sapiens Site

The Wuzhutai Early Homo sapiens Site is a cultural tourism attraction.

Located in the ravine between Phoenix Mountain and Jade Emperor Mountain in the hilly area south of Wuzhutai Village, Liudu, Xintai City, at the southern foot of Mount Tai. In 1966, local farmers digging a well in the ravine discovered a stone cavity about 50–60 cm in diameter on the eastern wall of a Cambrian limestone cave, containing one human tooth fossil. After identification, the human tooth fossil was a left lower molar belonging to a young girl, dating back to the Late Pleistocene epoch, approximately 50,000 years ago. Also found were tooth fossils of mammals such as horses, cattle, pigs, deer, tigers, and woolly rhinoceroses. Among them, only scattered horse teeth were found, with no horse fangs, and their size was similar to that of wild donkey teeth; the pig teeth, judging from their typical cusp structure, were similar to those of wild boars; the tiger teeth closely resembled tiger tooth specimens found at the Zhoukoudian Site in Beijing and Anyang in Henan Province. One human tooth fossil and a number of animal fossils were discovered. The tooth was confirmed to be a lower first or second molar of a young girl. Based on the tooth’s developmental stage and the age of the associated animal fossils, the Wuzhutai human fossil was identified as belonging to Homo sapiens from the Late Paleolithic period, approximately 20,000 to 50,000 years ago. In 1993, the Wuzhutai Homo sapiens fossil site was designated as a Shandong Provincial Cultural Relics Protection Unit, and in 2008, Luohanquan (Arhat Fist) was approved as part of the first batch of intangible cultural heritage of Xintai City.

Wuzhutai Village: Wuzhutai Village is located five li (approximately 2.5 km) south of Dongdu Town. It is a mountain village surrounded by hills on three sides and backed by a ridge on the other. The village has 420 households, a total population of 1,416, a two-committee team of five members, 40 Party members, over 840 mu of arable land, and more than 600 mu of forested land. Neighboring villages include Yuliang Village, Yangzhuang Village, Dongqiao Village, and Nanqiao Village. The area is rich in natural beauty and resources, with industrious people and abundant produce. In recent years, the village has made full use of its mountainous resource advantages, building a new quarry in partnership with Dongdu No. 1 Village, generating an annual output value of over 1.2 million yuan. This has effectively increased collective income, strengthened the village economy, and provided employment relocation opportunities... More detailed information about Wuzhutai Village++