The Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China was established at the Peking Union Medical College in 1928 with the assistance of Chinese geologists Ding Wenjiang and Weng Wenhao for the research and appraisal of the fossils unearthed.
Black stayed on at the Laboratory as honorary director while excavations continued at the site under Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian, anthropologists Pei Wenzhong and Jia Lanpo.

Conditions at the site were primitive, with scientists having to ride out to the excavation on mules and staying at caravansaries along the way.
When the first skullcap was unearthed at the site in 1929, it was done by Pei, working in a 40-meter crevasse in frigid weather with a hammer in one hand and a candle in the other.
A second skullcap was discovered close to the first in 1930 and by 1932 nearly 100 workers were deployed at the site each day.

Despite the conditions at the site eminent researchers continued to visit.
French palaeontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had been a regular visitor to the site since 1926.
French archaeologist Henri Breuil visited in 1931 and confirmed the presence of stone tools.
That same year evidence of the use of fire at the cave was accepted.

The workaholic Black died one night at his office in 1934, with one of the skullcaps unearthed at the site on his desk.
German Jewish anthropologist Franz Weidenreich replaced him as honorary director of the Laboratory and excavations continued uncovering a further three skullcaps in 1936.

Altogether excavations uncovered 200 human fossils from more than 40 individuals including 5 nearly complete skullcaps before they were brought to a halt in 1937 by the Japanese invasion of China.
Reports of Japanese atrocities include the torture and murder of workers at the site, with three bayoneted to death and a fourth forced to pull a rickshaw until dying of starvation.

In 1941 the bulk of the finds were lost, never to be recovered, while being transported to safety.
Fortunately, Weidenreich had made copies of the fossils to preserve their physical characteristics.
The Cenozoic Research Laboratory of the Geological Survey of China was established at the Peking Union Medical College in 1928 with the assistance of Chinese geologists Ding Wenjiang and Weng Wenhao for the research and appraisal of the fossils unearthed. Black stayed on at the Laboratory as honorary director while excavations continued at the site under Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian, anthropologists Pei Wenzhong and Jia Lanpo.
Conditions at the site were primitive, with scientists having to ride out to the excavation on mules and staying at caravansaries along the way. When the first skullcap was unearthed at the site in 1929, it was done by Pei, working in a 40-meter crevasse in frigid weather with a hammer in one hand and a candle in the other. A second skullcap was discovered close to the first in 1930 and by 1932 nearly 100 workers were deployed at the site each day.
Despite the conditions at the site eminent researchers continued to visit. French palaeontologist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin had been a regular visitor to the site since 1926. French archaeologist Henri Breuil visited in 1931 and confirmed the presence of stone tools. That same year evidence of the use of fire at the cave was accepted.
The workaholic Black died one night at his office in 1934, with one of the skullcaps unearthed at the site on his desk. German Jewish anthropologist Franz Weidenreich replaced him as honorary director of the Laboratory and excavations continued uncovering a further three skullcaps in 1936.
Altogether excavations uncovered 200 human fossils from more than 40 individuals including 5 nearly complete skullcaps before they were brought to a halt in 1937 by the Japanese invasion of China. Reports of Japanese atrocities include the torture and murder of workers at the site, with three bayoneted to death and a fourth forced to pull a rickshaw until dying of starvation.
In 1941 the bulk of the finds were lost, never to be recovered, while being transported to safety. Fortunately, Weidenreich had made copies of the fossils to preserve their physical characteristics.
Zhoukoudian