Dinosaur tracks amid humans
Source: Xinhua |
October 17, 2011, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A team of Chinese and US scientists have discovered the world's only evidence of co-existing human beings and dinosaur tracks in a remote county in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, according to a report published in latest issue of the Geological Bulletin of China.
Qijiang County's Lianhua Baozhai, which means "Lotus Mountain Fortress," has a large number of dinosaur tracks as well as a well-preserved fortress and historical epigraph, forming a direct line of evidence that ancient Chinese people built a residence and lived there for a long time, said Xing Lida, one of three researchers with the project.
People could have lived there for more than 700 years, and the mud cracks, ripple marks and duck-billed dinosaur tracks were considered by them to be lotus leaf veins, water environment and lotus, respectively, which is why they named it the Lotus Mountain Fortress, he said.
"Research shows that dinosaur tracks impacted ancient Chinese place names and folklore, so place names and folklore can be major clues for us in tracing dinosaur tracks," Xing said.
According to the paper, the Lotus Mountain Fortress dinosaur tracks contains 350 to 400 footprints that had been preserved in many ways, including concave footprints, convex footprints and multilayered footprints.
"We found a lot of interesting relics that were associated with lotus by local residents. The ripple marks, mud cracks and duck-billed dinosaur tracks had created a picture of a lotus field, and led to the folklore of 'booming golden lotus from the earth,'" Xing said.
Chen Yu, another researcher with the project and an archaeologist at the Capital Museum in Beijing, said the region was a transport hub for China and other Asian countries, where Buddhism thrived.
"The religion has a special worship towards lotus, which symbolizes peace and quiet. This is another reason for the residents to name the place for the flower, seeking blessing from the Buddha," Chen said.
Qijiang County was located in a historically frontier area, and had endured wars at that time. The Lotus Mountain Fortress had been a safe hiding place since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), according to the epigraphy of various dynasties, she said.
Qijiang County's Lianhua Baozhai, which means "Lotus Mountain Fortress," has a large number of dinosaur tracks as well as a well-preserved fortress and historical epigraph, forming a direct line of evidence that ancient Chinese people built a residence and lived there for a long time, said Xing Lida, one of three researchers with the project.
People could have lived there for more than 700 years, and the mud cracks, ripple marks and duck-billed dinosaur tracks were considered by them to be lotus leaf veins, water environment and lotus, respectively, which is why they named it the Lotus Mountain Fortress, he said.
"Research shows that dinosaur tracks impacted ancient Chinese place names and folklore, so place names and folklore can be major clues for us in tracing dinosaur tracks," Xing said.
According to the paper, the Lotus Mountain Fortress dinosaur tracks contains 350 to 400 footprints that had been preserved in many ways, including concave footprints, convex footprints and multilayered footprints.
"We found a lot of interesting relics that were associated with lotus by local residents. The ripple marks, mud cracks and duck-billed dinosaur tracks had created a picture of a lotus field, and led to the folklore of 'booming golden lotus from the earth,'" Xing said.
Chen Yu, another researcher with the project and an archaeologist at the Capital Museum in Beijing, said the region was a transport hub for China and other Asian countries, where Buddhism thrived.
"The religion has a special worship towards lotus, which symbolizes peace and quiet. This is another reason for the residents to name the place for the flower, seeking blessing from the Buddha," Chen said.
Qijiang County was located in a historically frontier area, and had endured wars at that time. The Lotus Mountain Fortress had been a safe hiding place since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), according to the epigraphy of various dynasties, she said.
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