Mandal Man

The ancient human fossil remains of what is now known as Mandal Man were discovered at a cave site of the Upper Paleolithic Age, at Mandalsan Mountain, Seungho County, Pyeongyang, North Korea. Mandal Man’s frontal bone, parietal bone, occipital bone, and lower jaw were unearthed from Mandal Cave. The fossils, which belonged to a man aged 25-30, were given the name ‘Mandal Man’ after the discovery site. There are no significant differences in terms of the overall skull development, brow ridges, and lower jaw between Mandal Man and modern humans. The environment of the period in which Mandal Man lived can be explained by the many animal remains - including extinct animals such as monkeys, woolly rhinoceros, horses, Bos primigenus Bojanus, cave bears, cave hyenas, and cave lions, as well as animals that typically lived in a warm climate such as monkeys and water deer - that were also found along with the Mandal Man fossils. Mandal Man is now believed to have lived at the end of the Upper Paleolithic Age, around 12,000 years ago, and is regarded as a member of the people who lived on the Korean Peninsula during the transition from the Upper Paleolithic Age to the Neolithic Age. However, it is still uncertain whether Mandal Man is a direct ancestor of modern Korean people.

Place of Settlement: Around Pyeongyang, North Korea
Period: About 10,000-12,000 years ago
Discovery Site: Mandal Cave, Pyeongyang, North Korea
Species: Homo sapiens
Nick-name: Mandal Man
Cranial Capacity: 1,676cc
Major Characteristics: The fossil remains of ancient humans who lived between the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic Age.