The following sections of this BookRags Literature Study Guide is offprint from Gale's For Students Series: Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Works: Introduction, Author Biography, Plot Summary, Characters, Themes, Style, Historical Context, Critical Overview, Criticism and Critical Essays, Media Adaptations, Topics for Further Study, Compare & Contrast, What Do I Read Next?, For Further Study, and Sources.
(c)1998-2002; (c)2002 by Gale. Gale is an imprint of The Gale Group, Inc., a division of Thomson Learning, Inc. Gale and Design and Thomson Learning are trademarks used herein under license.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Encyclopedia of Popular Fiction: "Social Concerns", "Thematic Overview", "Techniques", "Literary Precedents", "Key Questions", "Related Titles", "Adaptations", "Related Web Sites". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
The following sections, if they exist, are offprint from Beacham's Guide to Literature for Young Adults: "About the Author", "Overview", "Setting", "Literary Qualities", "Social Sensitivity", "Topics for Discussion", "Ideas for Reports and Papers". (c)1994-2005, by Walton Beacham.
All other sections in this Literature Study Guide are owned and copyrighted by BookRags, Inc.
1884-1934
Canadian anatomist and paleoanthropologist credited with the discovery of the hominid fossil known as Peking Man in the 1920s. Black received medical training in Canada and then studied with one of England's leading anatomists, Grafton Eliot-Smith, in 1914. Under Eliot-Smith's tutelage Black became interested in human origins and finding the earliest humans. He, along with many other scientists, believed that the first humans had appeared in Central Asia. In 1919 Black was offered a position at the Peking (Beijing) Union Medical School in China. In 1926 several fossil human teeth were discovered outside Peking at Zhoukoudian. Black examined the site briefly, but no more material was discovered. Convinced more fossils waited to be found, he received a grant to continue work there in 1927. By 1929 another tooth and skull fragments were unearthed. When enough material was recovered, Black determined that it was an unknown type of hominid and labeled it Sinanthropus pekinensis (Peking Man). It was later determined that Peking Man was a member of the group Homo erectus.