October 2017 Ezine Wordplay at Work, Issue 48

But the ultimate in time travel is to visit Lantian, not the home of a new dynasty or culture, but one of the few known cradles of humankind. In 1963 geologists discovered a Homo erectus mandible near Chenjiawo village. A year later a skull-cap with facial bones was found at Gongwangling Hill in the foothills of the Qinling Mountains. Both sites are in Lantian County near Xi'an.

Both yielded quartzite choppers, scrapers, and other stone tools along with remains of extinct sabre tooth tiger, stegodon, and giant macaque.

Lantian Man is more than 1.6 million years old. But, he is an impostor, a fake—for it has now been shown that Lantian Man is a woman. In fact, both Lantian men are women! *** We had arrived the previous evening. After sixteen hours the train jerked to a stop and a prolonged hiss outside the open window announced our arrival.

I pulled myself out of my reverie, rubbed soot from my eyes and peered through hazy clouds of escaping steam. Ancient city walls loomed alongside the track reflected in the murky water of the Wei River. Solemn, dirty faced kids, looking for treasure, crawled through the train windows as we dragged our luggage to the front of the car and stepped down ... into Xi'an ... and back into time.

Now we are about to visit our very beginnings. We know Gongwangling is about fifty miles southeast of the city and decide to ask directions along the way. This isn't easy, however, as we soon discover we are being piloted by China's answer to Mario Andretti—a very bad humored Mario Andretti.

Two harrowing hours, a headache and one traffic ticket later we climb Gongwangling Hill. We're welcomed by Mr. Gao, a thin man whose cheeks wrinkle as he gives us a big grin and introduces himself as the site director. He leads us into the museum. Soon we are staring past massive brow ridges into cavernous eyes.

The skull is low and wide and the bones are thick. No dainty doll, this lady is sturdy and stable. “Homo erectus meet Homo sapiens. Our Lady of Lantian, it's us, your misbegotten sons and daughters.” My companions speak in whispers. To look across a million years is very intense.

We climb to the site and from high on Gongwangling gaze across lush landscape patterned in dark green and yellow squares punctuated by leafy trees