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PMU M3550 is an isolated right upper molar (M3). It is the first-ever Homo erectus pekinensis specimen found. It was recovered by Zdansky in Zhoukoudian Locality 1 in 1921. This specimen, together with a second tooth recovered from Zdansky’s laboratory later on and two more teeth discovered at a later date from the Zhoukoudian collections are the earliest collected Homo erectus pekinensis samples from the Zhoukoudian deposits. All four teeth are currently housed in the Museum of Evolution at Uppsala University in Sweden. These four teeth are among the most treasured finds in palaeoanthropology, not only because of their scientific value but also for their historical and cultural significance [1][2][3][4][5].

K11337:3 is a single left lower molar (M1) fossil found by Swedish palaeontologist Anders Birger Bohlin on 16 October 1927, in Zhoukoudian Locality 1, locus A, layer 5. It serves as the holotype specimen for Sinanthropus pekinensis since Black [1] used this single specimen to create a new genus and species name for Peking Man. Black was able to do this in part because Zdansky had already found two human teeth from the Zhoukoudian deposits prior [2][3]. Sinanthropus pekinensis has ceased to be used as a scientific name and has been replaced by Homo erectus pekinensis [4][5]. 

Unfortunately in 1941, on the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War,  this specimen together with the whole collection excavated from 1928 to 1937 was lost during transport to the United States for safekeeping. This includes numerous remains of Peking Man (> 40 individuals) including five skulls [6][7][8]. Only the two diagnostic teeth found by Zdansky and a few crates of Zhoukoudian material sent to Uppsala University in the 1920s remain [9].

OH 6 was recovered from Bed I of FLK I in Olduvai Gorge. It is comprised of a mandibular third premolar, right maxillary first molar, right maxillary second incisor, and six calvaria fragments from a 5-6 year old Homo habilis child [1][2]. It is one of the hominin remains found in FLK Level 22 [2], which is bracketed by two volcanic tufts, both dated to approximately 1.84 Ma [3][4][5][6]. 

Peking Man (Homo erectus pekinensis) is a subspecies of Homo erectus which inhabited the Zhoukoudian Cave of northern China during the Middle Pleistocene. The first fossil, a tooth, was discovered in 1921, and the Zhoukoudian Cave has since then become the most productive Homo erectus site in the world. Peking Man was instrumental in the foundation of Chinese anthropology, and fostered an important dialogue between Western and Eastern science for decades to come. The fossils became the centre of anthropological discussion, and were classified as a direct human ancestor, propping up the Out of Asia hypothesis that humans evolved in Asia. Peking Man also played a vital role in the restructuring of the Chinese identity following the Chinese Communist Revolution, and was intensively communicated to working class and peasant communities to introduce them to Marxism and science (overturning deeply-rooted superstitions and creation myths). Early models of Peking Man society strongly leaned towards communist or nationalist ideals, leading to discussions on primitive communism and polygenism. This produced a strong schism between Western and Eastern interpretations, especially as the West adopted the Out of Africa hypothesis by the late 20th century, and Peking Man's role in human evolution diminished as merely an offshoot of the human line. Though Out of Africa is now the consensus, Peking Man interbreeding with human ancestors is frequently discussed especially in Chinese circles.

Peking Man is characterised by a long and heavily fortified skull, featuring an inflated bar of bone circumscribing the crown, crossing along the brow ridge, over the ears, and connecting at the back of the skull, as well as a sagittal keel running across the midline. The bone of the skull and long bones is exorbitantly thickened. The face was protrusive (midfacial prognathism), eye sockets wide, jaws robust and chinless, and teeth large. Brain volume ranged from 850 to 1,225 cc, for an average of just over 1,000 cc (compared to an average of 1,270 cc for present-day modern males and 1,130 for present-day modern females). The limbs are broadly anatomically comparable to those of modern humans. H. erectus in such northerly latitudes may have averaged roughly 150 cm (4 ft 11 in) in height, compared to 160 cm (5 ft 3 in) for more tropical populations.

Peking Man lived in a cool, predominantly steppe, partially forested environment, alongside deer, rhinos, elephants, bison, buffalo, bears, wolves, big cats, and a menagerie of other creatures. Peking Man intermittently inhabited the Zhoukoudian Cave, but the exact chronology is unclear, with estimates as far back as 780,000 years ago and as recent as 230,000 years ago. This spans several cold glacial and warm interglacial periods. The cultural complexity of Peking Man is fiercely debated. If the inhabitants were capable of hunting (as opposed to predominantly scavenging), making clothes, and controlling fire, they would have been well-equipped to survive frigid glacial periods. If not, they would have had to retreat southward and return later. It is further disputed how the Peking Man fossils were predominantly deposited in the cave, either because they lived and died there, or they were killed by giant hyaenas (Pachycrocuta) and dumped there, in addition to other natural processes. Over 100,000 pieces of stone toolswere recovered, mainly small and inconsistently shaped flakes no more than 5 cm (2.0 in) long, but they were sometimes refined into scrapers, choppers, and, towards the later end of occupation, points, burins, and awls.[1]

Homo ergaster, also known as the “working man” is an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans that lived in Africa during the Early Pleistocene. The majority of Homo ergaster fossils have been discovered along the shores of Lake Turkana in Kenya including the holotype KNM-ER 992 and the famous Turkana Boy (KNM-WT 15000), which is a nearly complete skeleton [1][2]. Other African sites include the North African sites of Tighenif (formerly Ternifine and sometimes assigned to Homo mauritanicus) in Algeria and Thomas Quarries and Sidi Abderrahman in Morocco; the East African sites of Konso Gardula and Omo in Ethiopia, Olorgesaillie in Kenya, and Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania; and possibly Swartkrans in South Africa, although it is not universally accepted that Homo ergaster was present [3].