How Yunnan University deciphered the mysteries of fossils

"This is a 'shrimp' from the Cambrian period more than 500 million years ago." @Professor Zhang Xiguang of the Institute of Paleontology of Yunnan University said quietly to the image on the computer screen. On the screen is a cone-shaped ancient creature with details on its body. This is a fossil "dissolved" from a stone on the banks of the Jinsha River, less than 1 millimeter in size. Pieces of inconspicuous stones, but researchers can decipher the "Wordless Heavenly Book" from them. Since 2004, the research team composed of experts such as Professor Zhang Xiguang and Professor Hou Xianguang of the Institute of Paleontology of Yunnan University has begun to "accompany the stone". On November 3 this year, they won the second prize of the 2020 National Natural Science Award for their project "Cambrian Specific Preservation of Fossils and Early Evolution of Arthropods".

Source: Guangming Daily