Black, Davidson

Black, Davidson

▪ Canadian anthropologist
born July 25, 1884, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
died March 15, 1934, Beijing, China

      Canadian physician and physical anthropologist who first postulated the existence of a distinct form of early man, popularly known as Peking man.

      Black, a graduate of the University of Toronto (Toronto, University of), taught at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, which he left to join the Canadian army medical corps in 1917 during World War I. When he was studying comparative anatomy with G. Elliot Smith, who was at that time working on the Piltdown (Piltdown man) material, Black became deeply interested in the problems of man's origin. After World War I and until his death, Black served in China as professor of embryology and neurology at the Peking (Beijing) Union Medical College. He first searched, unsuccessfully, for remains of early man in the Jehol (Jehol Uplands) region of northern China and in Thailand. Then in 1927, at Zhoukoudian (Chou-k'ou-tien), near Beijing, a lower molar of unusual pattern was discovered. The phylogenetic importance of this fossil was immediately recognized by Black, who inferred from this single tooth the existence of a previously unknown hominin (of human lineage) genus and species, which he named Sinanthropus pekinensis. In 1932 he pointed out the close relationship between this so-called Peking man and Pithecanthropus erectus, popularly known as Java man. Later discoveries of skulls and other fossil bones proved the accuracy of Black's judgment, though both Peking man and Java man are now classified as Homo erectus, which is thought to have lived from about 1,700,000 to some 200,000 years ago.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Davidson Black — Born 1884 (1884 …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson Black — (* 25. Juli 1884 in Toronto, Kanada; † 15. März 1934 in Peking) war ein kanadischer Arzt im Fachgebiet Anatomie und ein Paläoanthropologe. Er wurde international bekannt, nachdem er die unter Leitung von Otto Zdansky 1926 in der Unteren Höhle von …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Black (surname) — English*Alan W. Black *Ann Black *Arthur Black (humorist) *Conrad Black *Baxter Black *Ben Black *Bernard Black, fictional character in British sitcom Black Books , played by Dylan Moran *Bob Black *Bud Black (right handed pitcher) (1932 2005),… …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson College — Motto Alenda Lux Ubi Orta Libertas (Latin) Motto in English Let Learning Be Cherished Where Liberty Has Arisen Established 1837 …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson County Community College — Motto Your Connection to the future Established 1958, Industrial Education Center 1963, Davidson County Community College Type Public …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson Seamount — Bathymetric mapping showing details of Davidson Seamount …   Wikipedia

  • Black people — Black man redirects here. For the novel, see Black Man. Race …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson County, North Carolina — Seal …   Wikipedia

  • Black-tailed prairie dog — At Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge …   Wikipedia

  • Davidson County, Tennessee — Davidson County Courthouse in Nashville, Tennessee …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”