Peking Man skull

Come join the Asian Library to celebrate explorASIAN 2014 in the slide presentation “The Search of Peking Man” by Dr. Harry C.S. Lam.  This is held on Thursday, May 22nd, 2:00-3:30 p.m. at the Asian Centre Auditorium(1871 West Mall, Vancouver).

Peking Man refers to a group of individuals living in a location near Peking from 10,000 to about 800,000 years ago. The older ones are homo erectus and the more recent ones are homo sapiens. The fossils consist of more than 40 individuals, old and young, male and female.  They were discovered in the 1920s, and the excavation ceased in 1937 when Japan invaded China.

These ancient humans already knew how to use fire and eat cooked food. The more modern ones (10,000-30,000 years ago) presumably also wore clothes, because a sewing needle with an eye had been found. Imagine how difficult it is to grind down a piece of bone to a needle and make an eye on it, all without any metallic tool.

However, all these fossils were lost on the day Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941! To date they have not been found, and probably will never be. Dr. Harry Lam will walk you through this dramatic and mysterious story of their loss, and the subsequent search in Japan, China, and the United States.

Dr. Harry C.S. Lam, Ernest Rutherford Emeritus Professor of Physics of McGill University and Honorary Professor of UBC Physics & Astronomy, is an internationally renowned leader in theoretical physics.  His work, characterized by its breadth as well as its insight, has greatly furthered high-energy physics research.  Lam has won the Faculty of Science’s Leo Yaffe Award for Excellence in Teaching and has served as chair of the Department of Physics, as well as on many university committees.

Partnered with the Vancouver Asian Heritage Month Society, “The Search of Peking Man” is conducted in English with Q&A session in both English and Chinese. It is free and open to the public. For inquiry, please contact Phoebe Chow at 604.822.2427.