Discovery
The remnants of Yuanmou Man were discovered on May 1, 1965, by the geologist Fang Qian, who was working for the Geological Mechanics Research Institute. Based on the palaeomagnetic dating of the rock they were found in, it was initially estimated that the fossils were about 1.7 Ma BP and thus represented the earliest fossils of human ancestors found in China and East Asia. It was once thought to be possibly predated by "Wushan Man", but that has turned out to be a stem-orangutan (Ponginae).
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