Abstract . Homo sapiens was present in northern Asia by around 40,000 years ago, having replaced archaic populations across Eurasia after episodes of earlier population expansions and interbreeding 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 . Cultural adaptations of the last Neanderthals, the Denisovans and the incoming populations of H. sapiens into Asia remain unknown 1 , 5 , 6 , 7 . Here we describe Xiamabei, a well-preserved, approximately 40,000-year-old archaeological site in northern Chi...