Reveal the species of apes

In 1950s, in order to find the exact location of this fossil, understand its occurrence and solve the mystery of whether it is a giant ape or a giant, the vertebrate paleontology Laboratory of China Academy of Sciences organized a scientific expedition to the caves in South China in Guangxi, and conducted a field trip under the leadership of Mr. Pei Wenzhong from the end of 65438 to 0955. According to the clues provided by the cultural, medical and health departments and commercial departments about the production of "dragon bones" and "dragon teeth" in various places, they explored caves in limestone karst areas of Guangxi and engaged in the collection and excavation of fossils.

/kloc-at the beginning of 0/956, the expedition team came to Niushui Mountain, north of Nalongtun, Zheng Long Village, Wei Lan Township, daxin county. Niushuishan is a round mountain in the shape of steamed bread, with steep slopes on all sides. There is a cave about 40 meters from the top of the mountain. Because the light does not shine, it is dark inside, and the locals call it a black hole. The hole is about 90 meters from the ground, and there is a big empty room in the hole. Most of the mineral deposits were dug up by ordinary people when they took rock mud. Judging from the residual deposits, the deposits in the cave originally had two layers, the bottom of which was purple clay, with a thickness of about 1.4m, which had no cementation, split into squares after drying and contained few fossils. Above the purple sandy clay is a layer of yellow sandy soil with hard cementation, about 2 meters thick and more fossils. The expedition team conducted two explorations and a short-term excavation, and found some teeth fossils of orangutans, a lower third molar, a lower first premolar and an upper molar of an ape. This is the first time that scientists have discovered the origin of this ancient animal fossil. Therefore, this black hole was named Daxin Great Ape Cave.

/kloc-in the summer of 0/957, Qin Xiuhuai, a farmer from Shechong Village, Fengshan Town, Liucheng County, went to the nitrate cave in Lengzhai Mountain next to the village to dig mud, and accidentally dug out the mandible of a great ape. This is the first anthropoid mandible found in the world. Wei Yaoshe, a bank cadre, saw this mandible in Luomanxu, which is only ten miles away from Shechong Village. He thought it was of great scientific value and mobilized Qin Xiuhuai to donate it to the country. This precious scientific specimen was passed on by many people and reached the hands of scientists who visited Guangxi at the end of this year.

The mandible of the snake worm in Liucheng is particularly thick, with 12 teeth. Represents an elderly woman. This discovery made the scientific investigation team overjoyed and excited. According to the clue that Qin Xiuhuai discovered the mandible of the great ape, the field expedition team of vertebrate paleontology Laboratory of China Academy of Sciences followed closely, and soon visited the origin of the mandible of the great ape-Nitrate Cave, and set up camp here to start a large-scale excavation work.

Then, like migratory birds, the expedition team will come here regularly every winter. After the excavation from 1957 to 1963, based on the original discovery of the Great Ape Cave 1, 2 Great Ape Caves were discovered, 3 mandibular fossils were excavated, and more than 0/000 teeth of the Great Ape were scattered.

These 1000 teeth represent at least 75 individuals, and it is speculated that there may be 33 males and 42 females. The second great ape has 10 teeth on its mandible, and it is a young male individual. The third great ape has 14 teeth on its mandible, and it is an elderly male individual. Therefore, of the three mandibles, two are old and one is young; Two men and one woman.

So far, these two great ape caves have not found any traces of stone tools or fire, which has nothing to do with human habitation. Therefore, it is determined that the stratigraphic age of Liucheng great ape is early Pleistocene.

Nitrate Cave is located on a cliff southwest of a lonely peak, about 90 meters above the ground. Climbing such a cave is not an easy task. Peng Shulin from the Museum of the Autonomous Region accompanied Professor Fang Zhongzuo, Vice President of Guangxi Medical College. Group 14 people, only 6 people can reach the cave smoothly. Others have to stand at the foot of the mountain and look up. According to two local old hunters, in the early years of the Republic of China (19 12), they went into this cave to hunt wild animals and found good rock mud. Later, they dug up the soil in the hole to cook nitrate, so they called it a nitrate hole. Because so many great ape fossils were found in this cave, it was later named "Great Ape Cave". In order to avoid duplication with daxin county Black Hole, it is called "Liucheng Giant Ape Cave", and 1963 is listed as the key cultural relics protection unit in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Since then, Liucheng Giant Ape Cave has been famous at home and abroad.

1965, 12 great ape teeth, including two lower third molars, were found in a cave in Blary Mountain, Xu Gan, Wuming County. In June, 1988, Xie accompanied Dr. Denisa. Ertle from the Department of Anthropology of the University of California and Dr. Russell Jocknon from the Department of Anthropology of Iowa State University visited Mount Blary Cave.

1968 and 1970, more than 250 great ape teeth were found in Gaoping Gulong Cave, Jianshi County, Hubei Province.

During the period of 1973, Guangxi hydrogeology engineering geological team collected some mammal fossils in the cave of Nongmoshan, southeast of He Na Village, while investigating limestone caves in Suoluoshe, Bama Yao Autonomous County. At the end of the same year, the relevant personnel of Guangxi Field Team, Guangxi Hydrogeology Engineering Geology Team and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Museum of vertebrate paleontology Institute of Paleoanthropology of China Academy of Sciences conducted a short-term excavation of the cave and collected more mammal fossils, including a great ape tooth fossil. This is another place where great ape fossils were unearthed in Guangxi after Daxin, Liucheng and Wuming. This tooth is the right lower third molar. From the occlusal surface, it is very different from Liucheng Great Ape. The tooth length is 25.3mm, the tooth width is 19.9mm and the tooth thickness is 50 1.5. These three values not only exceed the corresponding average value of Liucheng great ape small group, but also exceed the corresponding average value of Liucheng great ape large group. Therefore, it is considered that this great ape may be a male individual, representing a kind of great ape with huge teeth.

In 2002, Guangxi Museum of Natural History excavated in Mohui Cave, Bubing Township, Tiandong County, and found 14 anthropoid tooth fossils. The vertical distance from this cave to the foot of the mountain is 60 meters, and it is necessary to build a zigzag Panshan road to get up.

So far, eight species of great ape fossils have been found in the world. There are only two places abroad: 1967, a great ape mandible was found in Dhok Pathan, Himachal Pradesh, northern India, and the stratigraphic age was in the middle Pliocene, about 3 million years ago; A tooth fossil that may be a great ape was found in a cave in Pingjia, Vietnam. There are six places in China, except Gaoping Gulong Cave in Jianshi, Hubei, and the other five places are in Guangxi, namely Daxin, Liucheng, Wuming, Bama and Tiandong. It can be said that Guangxi is the hometown of great apes. The great ape fossils found in Liucheng are the most abundant, ranking first in the world.