In the 1920s an international team of scientists and miners unearthed the richest evidence of human evolution the world had ever seen: Peking Man. After the communist revolution of 1949, Peking Man became a prominent figure in the movement to bring science to the people. In a new state with twin goals of crushing &;superstition&; and establishing a socialist society, the story of human evolution was the first lesson in Marxist philosophy offered to the masses. At the same time, even Mao&;s populist commitment to mass participation in science failed to account for the power of popular culture&;represented most strikingly in legends about the Bigfoot-like Wild Man&;to reshape ideas about human nature. The People&;s Peking Man is a skilled social history of twentieth-century Chinese paleoanthropology and a compelling cultural&;and at times comparative&;history of assumptions and debates about what it means to be human. By focusing on issues that push against the boundaries of science and politics, The People&;s Peking Man offers an innovative approach to modern Chinese history and the history of science.