NEW DISCOVERY OF THE EARLY PLEISTOCENE STRATA IN ZHOUKOUDIAN, BEIJING

The authors discovered an outcrop of early Pleistocene strata on the northern slope of Mount Taiping, Zhoukoudian, Beijing. The strata at this locality are characterized by a complete stratigraphic sequence and abundant fossils, so are named the Taipingshan Formation. A group of valuable rodent fossils, suchas Allocricetus ehiki Schaub（1930） and, less commonly, carnivore and insectivore fossils were collected from the section of the strata. Besides the rare ancient ice wedge sediments were also found. On the basis of relatively systematic paleomagnetic data, the age of the sediments of the Tapingshan Formation was estimated at 0.73-0.92 Ma. Thus the age of the Quaternary sediments in the Zhoukoudian is advanced for nearly 0. 2 Ma. This is a new result of important scientific value.