Peking Man tooth found in Sweden
Source: Xinhua |
May 12, 2011, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A UNIQUE canine tooth from Peking Man has been found at the Museum of Evolution at Swedish Uppsala University, the university said yesterday.
"The tooth has not been touched since it was dug up in the 1920s in China. We and our Chinese colleagues are overwhelmed. With today's technology, a canine tooth that has not been handled can tell us so much more than in the past, such as what they ate," said Per Ahlberg, professor of evolutionary developmental biology at Uppsala University.
Fossils from the so-called Peking Man are extremely rare, as most of the finds mysteriously disappeared after World War II.
Swedish paleontologists were the first group of scientists to go to China in the early 20th century to carry out expeditions in collaboration with Chinese colleagues.
The relics were sent to Sweden and well-known paleontologist Carl Wiman identified and described the fossils. But after Wiman's death, 40 cartons were left unopened and forgotten.
A few weeks ago, Ahlberg and colleagues noticed the cartons in a museum storeroom.
"This is an extremely important find. It is the only canine tooth in existence. It can yield important information about how Homo erectus lived in China," said professor Liu Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
"The tooth has not been touched since it was dug up in the 1920s in China. We and our Chinese colleagues are overwhelmed. With today's technology, a canine tooth that has not been handled can tell us so much more than in the past, such as what they ate," said Per Ahlberg, professor of evolutionary developmental biology at Uppsala University.
Fossils from the so-called Peking Man are extremely rare, as most of the finds mysteriously disappeared after World War II.
Swedish paleontologists were the first group of scientists to go to China in the early 20th century to carry out expeditions in collaboration with Chinese colleagues.
The relics were sent to Sweden and well-known paleontologist Carl Wiman identified and described the fossils. But after Wiman's death, 40 cartons were left unopened and forgotten.
A few weeks ago, Ahlberg and colleagues noticed the cartons in a museum storeroom.
"This is an extremely important find. It is the only canine tooth in existence. It can yield important information about how Homo erectus lived in China," said professor Liu Wu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
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