Original title: How was the fossil of the Akebono ape found in Shichi
Akebono restoration diagram
The news of the discovery of "Akebono fossils" (Fossils of Pseudo-Ape Ke's) in Shichi County, Henan Province, announced on April 19 shocked Chinese and foreign academic circles. This discovery marks the emergence of human distant ancestors in Henan 45 million years ago, pushing forward the emergence of great apes by 10 million years and shaking the assertion that humans originated in Africa.
In fact, as early as June 1916, Chinese and foreign scientists continued to embark on a journey of archaeological discovery in this small village on the bank of the Yellow River. However, it is rarely known to the outside world, and even the local county records are not recorded. It was only in October 2016 that an ordinary local cultural scholar, with an unexpected discovery, uncovered this unknown and mysterious history.
Rediscovery of discoveries
This unexpected discovery originated from the compilation of township chronicles in Shichi County. At that time, Yang Shuochao, who was the responsible editor, accidentally saw the entry "Rencun Monkey" in the search for information. It reads that "this animal is produced in the fossil layer of the Ren village section of the late Eliocene (Shalamuln period) river embankment group of the late Eliocene (Shalamulun period) 2 km south of Ren Village, Nancun Township, Shichi Nancun Township". As a native of the locals, he had never heard of it. But years of local cultural research have made him keenly aware that there may be a major history behind this that has been obliterated.
In order to solve the mystery in the middle of the game, Yang Shuochao made a special trip to Beijing in December 2016 to visit experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and read a large number of historical materials.
Originally out of curiosity and pursuit of the "Rencun Monkey", but Yang Shuochao did not expect that he had discovered a broader and far-reaching world - a considerable number of Akebono fossils had been excavated in the area of ren musakami (natural village) in Shichi. He found that in the past 100 years, as the birthplace of China's Tertiary strata and Eocene mammals, the Yuanqu-Shichi Basin between the banks of the Yellow River in Nancun Township in northern Shichi County and the Yuanqu in Shanxi Has been a hot land for Chinese and foreign geologists and paleontologists to go to, and a large number of higher primate mammals, including Akebono fossils, and other mammal fossils have been excavated.
Why was the Upper River Akebono obliterated
Akebono, scientific name Eosimias, means the root type of ape, that is, the earliest and oldest ape.
Professor Tong Yongsheng of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences pointed out that the akebono at the site of Rencun Shanghe in Henan Shichi has two major characteristics, one is that it is relatively old and the site is more concentrated; the other is that the mammal fossils unearthed are many types, rich in connotation, and large fossil reserves.
Ni Xijun, a researcher at the Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, believes that the Chinese shu ape in Liyang, Jiangsu Province, is similar to the Shanghe Shu Ape era, and the Keshi false ape in Ren Murakami River is about 5 million years earlier than the century Shu Ape found in Yuanqu Zhai in 1995. He even argues that the theoretical origins of Akebono were even earlier, 50 million years ago, as new fossil discoveries would prove.
On April 14, American scientist Kenneth Christopher Beard said in an email to Yang Shuochao: "The pseudo-ape Kronii found in RenCun has very important scientific significance, because it shows that this ancient primate has small eyes and a deep face like modern apes, rather than having large eyes and a very shallow face like modern tarsiers." From these features, we can infer that the pseudo-ape is active during the day, not at night like the tarsier. The teeth of the pseudo-ape show that it is a very primitive, very ancient close relative of all living apes, including macaques, apes, and humans. ”
Since the significance of the fossil of the Akebono ape on the pond is so great, why is it obscure and "dusted" by history? Many experts, officials and local people believe that there are mainly the following two reasons: First, scientists are accustomed to referring to the "Yuanqu-Shichi Basin" as "Yuanqu Basin" in general terms for convenience, and even in published papers, this has affected the spread of the Elements of Shuchi; second, the major discoveries of the Century Dawn Ape and media reports have made the outside world focus more on Shanxi Yuanqu and ignore the existence of Henan Shuchi.
Recently, Chinese scientists have completed the restoration map of Akebono, which is the world's first restoration map of Akebono that was completely drawn by scientists. Its painter is Ni Xijun.
Studies have confirmed that Akebono has small incisors, large canine teeth, rounded mandibular angles, and an upright leading edge of the chin. It weighs around 100 to 200 grams, similar to a small mouse, and feeds on fruit insects. Its living environment is humid and humid, full of trees, and a wide variety of animals and plants.
Ni Xijun said that in order to restore the images of various parts of the body of the akebodis, including body size, color, teeth, foot features, etc., he not only referred to the research of previous scientists, but also considered its relationship with primates such as the ancient monkey Achilleschi monkey and the extant tarsier. (Reporter Qiao Di)
(Editor-in-charge: Fu Weijun (intern), Zhang Xi)