"Fossil hunter" Tang Yonggang measures and estimates the area on foot at a fossil point of a dinosaur footprint. "Fossil hunter" refers to "semi-specialized" geology and archaeology enthusiasts. China's folk fossil science first appeared around 2000
In China, there are only a few experts specializing in paleontology, and it is almost impossible to rely on only a few experts to measure the earth with their feet and obtain a large number of wild discoveries. Therefore, the "fossil hunters" throughout the country have become particularly important. "Fossil hunter" refers to "semi-specialized" geology and archaeology enthusiasts. In recent years, they have made discoveries around their lives, which has doubled the effect of Chinese paleontological research
This article was first published in The Southern People Weekly Issue 10, 2020
Pictures, texts | Li Jizheng Edited by | Fang Yingzhong Zheng Jie
The full text is about 3145, and it takes about 7 minutes to read carefully
Tang Yonggang
In the attic of Tang Yonggang's house, he was displaying a collection of trilobites' fossils. Tang Yonggang is a high-ranking collector in the circle, the screen name "Zuo Shanling" is more famous, everyone calls him "Lao Zuo" or "Zuo Shanling"
China's folk science popularization nature to find fossils first appeared around 2000, a "fossil network" gathered China's first batch of "fossil enthusiasts". They use their spare time and limited knowledge of geological paleontology to search and identify, and then go online to exchange and learn. Later, the Institute of Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences organized many "enthusiast" trainings, so many years later, a group of "semi-specialized" geological archaeologists appeared, and Lao Zuo was one of them.
Lao Zuo's real name is Tang Yonggang, and his online name is "Zuo Shanling", which is the name of a dinosaur footprint fossil site in Shandong, and it is also the dinosaur footprint fossil point he first investigated 15 years ago. Since then, Lao Zuo has fallen in love with dinosaur footprint fossils and has discovered a number of dinosaur footprint fossil groups. Among them, the four parallel small dinosaur footprints in the tancheng Lizhuang dinosaur footprint fossil group are the first time in the world, confirming the living characteristics of small dinosaurs. In 2014, together with dinosaur expert Xing Lida, he co-authored China's best-selling fossil science book, "Common Paleontological Fossils in China", which is now in its fourth edition.
Lao Zuo's hometown is in Linyi, Shandong, and his profession is painting. Bounded by the Yi River, the eastern region exposes a good Cretaceous strata, and the western mountainous area exposes a large area of Cambrian strata, providing a geographical advantage for his field expeditions. He combines sketching outings with wilderness discoveries to make every outing motivating. In the spring of 2007, he discovered the first complete fossil trilobite in Fei County, Shandong Province, which opened the prelude to the specific buried fauna of the mid-Cambrian period in Shandong, China. Hundreds of expeditions, more and more discoveries. Under the guidance of Professor Yuan Jinliang and Researcher Huang Diying of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lao Zuo found more new species or complete trilobite fossil specimens that appeared for the first time in China, as well as other types of arthropod fossils, and even Cambrian marine overlord odd shrimp creatures.
Today, people want to find a fossil that is not as far away as imagined. Lao Zuo used his own words to summarize the capabilities that "fossil hunters" should have: first, there is a certain geological and paleontological knowledge, there is a certain ability to identify fossils; second, there are fossil points found and collected independently; third, there is the ability to initially repair and repair fossils; fourth, can cooperate with professional paleontological researchers to discover and provide new scientific research specimens, providing origin information for professional research, and fifth, can contribute to the popularization of fossil science in China.
In a Cambrian cross-section in Fei County, Shandong Province, Tang Yonggang was looking for a specimen of a trilobite. He found fragments of the new species on a stone slab
At a fossil point of a dinosaur footprint in Linyi, when viewed from the air, the entire fossil site is spectacular. Lao Zuo's hometown is in Linyi, Shandong, and his profession is painting. Bounded by the Yi River, the eastern region exposes a good Cretaceous strata, and the western mountainous area exposes a large area of Cambrian strata, providing a geographical advantage for his field expeditions
Lao Zuo would often stay in the museum all day. In the past 15 years, his footprints have spread to almost all fossil production areas in the country. The fossil of the new dragonfly named "Tang Aktasi Dragonfly" after Tang Yonggang's surname
Li Gang
In the Guizhou Guanling National Geopark, Li Gang carefully inspected the burial of a sea lily in situ. Li Gang became famous in the fossil circle because he was good at refining fossils
Li Gang's fame in the fossil circle is because of his strong hands-on ability. From the discovery of a fossil to the preservation and final display, there is a process in the middle, called Qing xiu or refining. What he was good at was refining fossils.
Li Gang's home is in Liupanshui, Guizhou, less than a three-hour drive from Guanling Biota, China's most abundant fossil-rich site. 10 years ago, he was an off-road vehicle modification expert and, like most locals, didn't know what fossils were. By chance, Li Gang saw a fine collection of fossils at the Gem Exhibition in Guangzhou, and he couldn't move his feet at once. He asked the experts present for advice, and only then did he know that his hometown of Guizhou was a famous fossil production area. After that, he moved his family to Guanling, which is rich in fossils such as sea lilies and ichthyosaurs, and began his own journey of discovery.
The more interesting he learned, the more he became addicted, li gang converted his small truck into a station wagon, driving around the mountains for a long time, eating and living in the car.
The search is just the beginning, and to make fossils shine again, the most important thing is to refine the technology. In 2015, Li Gang first met a German fossil repair studio, which opened another fossil door for him. "There are more than a dozen kinds of pneumatic pens, as well as microscopes, and sandblasting guns that simulate the effects of desert weathering..." For more than a year, Li Gang volunteered in the studio, learning while doing.
Today, Li Gang also built a fossil restoration studio in his home in Liupanshui and modified the sandblasting equipment himself. From small trilobites to dinosaur skeletons, every day museum or collection enthusiasts send rough stones from all over the country for him to repair.
Every time he found a new fossil point, Li Gang was excited. Because of his reputation, there are always enthusiasts who come thousands of miles to Guizhou to find him and learn from his teachers
Guanling, Guizhou is an important fossil producing area, and the local museum is equipped with a sandblasting machine that Li Gang has transformed, which is specially used to show the repair process to the audience
Li Gang is refining a small fossil of a sea lily specimen. He studied specifically from a German fossil expert for a year. Today, his works have finally reached the level where they can be exhibited on the same stage as foreign collections
Above: A Tibetan friend from Shandong sends a piece of rough trilobite fossils. After careful repair, it finally revealed its original appearance. Below: Qing Xiu Hai Lily is Li Gang's best skill. This is a comparison of the sea lily before and after the repair
Zhu Lei
Among the many fossil hunters, Zhu Lei is one of the few who combines fossil searching and children's science to do a good job
Among the many fossil hunters, Zhu Lei is one of the few who combines fossil searching and children's science to do a good job. When I met him, he was taking a group of children on a tour of the Nanjing Geological Museum, and the children kept asking questions. "How many years have the earliest humans been today?" "What kind of sedimentary rock is called?" "What were the earliest fossils?" "Where are the fossils in Nanjing?" ......
Zhu Lei liked to collect all kinds of stones since he was a child, and when he was in the University of Geology, he ran to the mountains during the holidays to look for fossils. After working, he traveled almost all over the country's provinces.
He had two cars, one of which was designed for outdoors and fossils, and the body was "scarred." All these years, as long as it was a holiday, he was outside. Before marriage, one person runs; after marriage, he takes his wife to look for it; when the first child is born, he goes out of the family of three; after the birth of the second child, the four people are exactly in a car...
Three years ago, Zhu Lei established a cultural company and regularly organized some scientific popularization and geological study tours. In addition to letting children visit the museum with professional knowledge and popularizing geological knowledge indoors, Zhu Lei will also lead children and parents into the mountains to conduct field research geology on holidays, observe mountain profiles, understand rock structures, and even guide children to personally discover and collect fossils, rocks and minerals.
"Every fossil of paleontology is very precious, and we should not only understand it, but also protect it." Before each geological research activity, Zhu Lei will agree with the participants that if rare varieties or specimens with scientific research value are excavated, they will be transferred to scientific research institutes or museums for research. At the same time, he assured the children that if the specimens were studied, they would be marked with the names of the discoverers. He said that this is also part of learning, which allows children to participate in activities to learn scientific knowledge, but also have a sense of responsibility and achievement.
"From cambrian to ordovician, from Devonian to Cretaceous, from volcanic rock to sedimentary rock, from a piece of ammonite to a plant leaf ... Although, in just a few hours or days, children travel from tens to hundreds of miles, their thinking can span thousands of years. I hope that through popular science, we can change the children's worldview and let them know more about our planet, and I believe it will benefit them for life," Zhu Lei said.
Zhu Lei has two cars, one of which is specially designed to run outdoors and find fossils, and the body is already scarred
At the Nanjing Geological Museum, Zhu Lei took the children on a tour. Under the guidance of professionals, children can more intuitively understand the relationship between fossils and geology
At a fossil specimen collection site in Tangshan, Nanjing, Zhu Lei led children and parents to search for and identify fossil species on a cross-section
Chinese leader in material media
Provide character reading books with style and intelligence
Documenting our fate • Keeping a manuscript for history
Selected from previous periods
● Ultimate Battle: Rob people with death
● Fifteen years of searching for a son Shen Junliang, the father of the "Aunt Mei" abduction case
● During the epidemic period, Baibu Pavilion: suddenly entered an unexpected life
● Wenzhou Self-help and challenge of a city with severe epidemics
● "Restructuring" Jinyintan: The Secret of the Eye of the Storm of the Epidemic