The Search for the Peking Man Fossils

Harunari Hideji

doi:10.1537/asj.113.161

The search for the fossils of Peking man, which were lost in China in December1941, still continues. Some 63 years later, however, that search has reached a dead end. In this paper I discuss the 18-month investigation into the disappearance of the fossils conducted by the Japanese military police from December 1941. In particular, I analyze the report submitted to the headquarters of the Japanese military police in Shanghai in May 1943. I further introduce and analyze documents showing the connection of Kotondo Hasebe and other Japanese scholars to the Peking Man fossils.<br> The examination of documentary materials from Japan, China and the United States shows that while the activities of the Japanese army and of Japanese researchers formed an important background to the disappearance of the fossils, there is no evidence of any direct connection.<br> At the same time, various aspects of the conduct of Franz Weidenrich (who returned to the US before the loss of the fossils), Weidenrich's secretary, Hirschburg, and his assistant, Hu Chengzhi, remain unclear.<br> The loss of the Peking Man fossils was an extremely regrettable incident that occurred during the Japanese war in China and at the time of the outbreak of hostilities between Japan and the United States. Scholars should not forget the role of Japan's cultural imperialism in the loss of the fossils.<br>

The Search for the Peking Man Fossils

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