P. Teilhard de Chardin is one of the pioneers of Paleolithic research in China. Together with another French paleontologist
Emile Licent, he found and excavated two
Paleolithic sites in North China in early 1920s, namely Shuidonggou in the Ningxia Autonomous Region and Salawusu (Ordos) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. He is one of the co authors of Le Paléolithique de la Chine, which is the first monograph devoted exclusively to paleolithic research in China. As an advisor to the Cenozoic Research Laboratory under the Institute of Geological Survey of China, he played an essential role in the identification and confirmation of stone artifacts and fire use evidence collected from Zhoukoudian Locality 1 in late 1920s and early 1930s. He and W.C. Pei made the earliest systematic study of Sinanthropus lithic industry, which laid the methodological foundation for lithic analysis in China. Through analyzing faunal remains from various localities at Zhoukoudian, he and C.C. Young established the basic stratigraphic and chronological framework for the site. In addition, he provided various kinds of guidance and assistance to the first generation of Chinese paleolithic archaeologists, namely Pei Wenzhong (W.C. Pei) and Jia Lanpo (L.P. Chia), which warranted his long lasting influence on paleolithic research in China.