Small Cave in Henan, China Contains Traces of Modern Humans 70,000 Years Ago

JAKARTA - A small cave on the banks of Henan, China, provides important clues about early modern humans. From the Xianrendong site, researchers found nearly 400 fragments of human skulls and teeth.

Launching a report by China Daily, Tuesday, April 28, the Xianrendong site or "Immortal Cave" is in Lushan County, Pingdingshan City, about 800 kilometers south of Beijing. This site was discovered in 2020 and in 2025 was included in the list of the 10 most important archaeological findings in Henan.

Zhao Qingbo of the Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology said Xianrendong contained the oldest known early modern human fossils in Henan.

"This site yielded the oldest known early modern human fossils in Henan Province," Zhao said on April 9.

One skull fragment is estimated to be 32,000 years old. The other two are 12,000 and 13,000 years old. However, traces of human activity in the cave are much older, around 70,000 years ago. The oldest sediment layer reaches about 120,000 years.

According to Zhao, these findings are important because the Xianrendong fossil is from early modern humans, one lineage with present humans. This is different from the findings of previous hominins in Henan, such as Xuchang Man, Nanzhao, and Luanchuan, which are not direct ancestors of present humans.

"This discovery fills a gap in our understanding of the early modern human evolution in Henan from 100,000 to 12,000 years ago," Zhao was quoted as saying by China Daily. In addition to human fossils, archaeologists found 51 stone tools, including scrapers, stone cores, flakes, and chunks. The tools were made with the traditional stone technique of northern China. Zhao called the pattern shows the continuity of technology in the region.

This cave also gives an idea of how ancient humans survived. Around 70,000 years ago, during the last Ice Age, humans in central China had not built artificial dwellings. They chose natural caves to shelter from rain, wind, and wild animals.

"Xianrendong is on a cliff, providing natural protection from wind and rain," said Zhang Shuimu from the Pingdingshan City Cultural Heritage Bureau.

But the cave was not always habitable. In the early days, the conditions were too humid. Animals only began to settle in it during the drier times about 100,000 years ago.

The discovery of animal fossils in the cave is also important. The remains will help researchers read what the ancient humans hunted, where they got their food, and how they dealt with environmental changes.

Zhao said this condition was different from Europe at the same time. There, simple buildings from mammoth ivory have been found. In China, the remains of similar buildings have not been found.

Only half of the area of Xianrendong I has been excavated. Its size is only 24 square meters. The rest is deliberately left for future researchers with better technology.

Subsequent research will include skull morphology, ancient proteins, pollen analysis, environmental reconstruction, and ancient DNA. The team is also beginning to pay attention to Xianrendong II, the larger cave at the site, where animal fossils dating back some 40,000 years have been found.