Abstract: Re-excavation of the Peking man site at Zhoukoudian was initiated with an aim mainly to enhance the preservation of the extant West Section of the site on the one hand and to promote our understanding of some key elements of the evolutionary history of Asia Homo erectus on the other. Roughly 800 macro-mammal bones were uncovered from Layer 3, the uppermost stratum during field seasons 2009-2010. A taphonomic analysis of the skeletal remains of Cervus (Sika) grayi, the most dominant species of the fauna strongly negates a role played by hominins in the accumulation and modification of this assemblage. The virtual absence of stone artifacts and human skeletal remains has further strengthened this conclusion. Bearing in mind evidence of a series of cave collapse episodes, we tentatively propose that the cave morphology during the formation of Layer 3 at the West Section was probably inhospitable to Homo erectus pekinensis, which should have been responsible for human habitation patterns within the cave; animals of the time were probably trapped in the cave by accident and eventually preserved in situ in the Quaternary sediments.

Key words: Early Paleolithic; Zhoukoudian Loc.1; West Section; Taphonomy; Zooarchaeology