A stone core witnesses an archaeological legend a hundred years ago

Photograph by Tianjin Natural Museum, a stone core discovered by Sang Zhihua in the loess layer of Xingjiagou, Qingyang, Gansu

Photographs of the exhibited cultural relics Tianjin Natural History Museum

　　One hundred years ago, on June 4, 1920, Sang Zhihua, the founder of the North Xinjiang Museum, the predecessor of Tianjin Natural Museum, discovered a stone core in the loess layer of Xingjiagou, Qingyang, Gansu. This discovery unveiled the Paleolithic Age of China Prologue to archaeology and related disciplines.

　　Introduced by Gao Xing, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, at the special exhibition "Stone" on June 4th commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of China's first paleolith, 1920 From June to August, Sang Zhihua discovered three Pleistocene human-made stone products in the loess layer. In 1923, Sang Zhihua and Derijin discovered and excavated the Sarausu ruins in Inner Mongolia and the Shuidonggou ruins in Ningxia. The discovery of "Hetao" teeth laid the foundation for Chinese ancient anthropology and Paleolithic archaeology, and made China occupy an important international academic position in the study of human origin and evolution.

Sang Zhihua's scientific expedition

　　In front of us, this polyhedral stone core and two pieces of stone, which are only two square centimeters, opened the prelude to archaeological research in the Paleolithic era in my country. After sleeping for tens of thousands of years, it was dug up by Sang Zhihua and placed in the showcase.

　　It is the protagonist of "Stone"-commemorating the 100th anniversary of the discovery of China's first Paleolith. In 1920, Sang Zhihua collected Paleolithic stone products in the loess layer of Qingyang County, Gansu Province, and the idea of ​​finding human fossils in the Paleolithic period began. Soon after, others told him that a large number of mammalian fossils were found in the Sarausu River basin on the southern edge of the Ordos Desert. This further stimulated Sang Zhihua's enthusiasm for inspecting ancient human sites and collecting relics. After several years of running around, he has gained a lot.

　　Sang Zhihua has authored "Afforestation in Mountainous Areas in Northeast China", "North China (Yellow River and other tributaries of Beizhili Bay) Ten Years of Investigation" and "Sanggan River Grassland Travel Notes", as the main author, co-authored "North China And Mongolian Ethnographic Adventures, "Birds in the North Xinjiang Museum and Tree Species Collected by the North Xinjiang Museum." Sang Zhihua came to China in 1914, returned to France in 1938, and died in France in 1952.

　　Sang Zhihua conducted a comprehensive investigation and study of paleontology in northern China, with a journey of 50,000 kilometers and passing through more than 300 counties in northern China. He has written a large number of books on museums and scientific research.

　　Gao Xing said: "Today, the stone core excavated by Sang Zhihua a hundred years ago was the first Paleolithic cultural relic unearthed in China, with ancient anthropology and Paleolithic history in China. Archaeology kicked off, and Sang Zhihua’s contribution in this area was remembered and carried forward by the Chinese academic community. Although some foreign missionaries had found some stone tools before, they were all exposed on the surface, and the specimens discovered by Sang Zhihua were excavated. Since the loess layer, the loess layer clearly records the era of human activities and the environment at that time, which has moved the history of human activities in the Chinese land forward by tens of thousands of years."

　　Swedish archaeologist Andersen discovered the 5000-year-old Yangshao culture in Mianchi County, Henan in 1921. The archaeological community has always believed that this was the beginning of archaeological research in primitive society in China. The Chinese archaeological community is preparing to hold academic activities next year Archaeology was born on this land for a hundred years. However, Gao Xing believes that Chinese archaeology actually began on June 4, 1920. The three Pleistocene stone products unearthed from the Qingyang, Gansu loess layer are milestones in this discipline, and Sang Zhihua is the initiator of this discipline.

The "living fossil" of the museum-North Xinjiang Museum

　　"Another great achievement of Sang Zhihua was the establishment of the Beijiang Museum in 1930, which is the site of today's Tianjin Natural Museum." Zhang Caixin, director of the Tianjin Natural Museum, introduced.

　　Beijiang Museum is currently the only museum in my country where the original site, original buildings, original collections, original exhibition cabinets, and original historical documents have been completely preserved. It can be called a "living fossil" in the history of early museums in China. Its south building was built in 1929 and completed in 1930. It is a two-story brick-concrete structure, covering an area of ​​330 square meters, with a total construction area of ​​690 square meters (including 18 square meters in the basement). The original use function is the library, laboratory and geological paleontology storehouse of Beijiang Museum.

　　The former North Xinjiang Museum has a collection of more than 14,000 books, more than 900 copies of maps, and various types of printing plates and other documents. The book covers more than 20 disciplines such as geology, paleontology, paleoanthropology, archeology, zoology, botany, etc. 80% of which are foreign languages, a considerable part of which are representative works of the world’s top academic research results and Internationally influential continuity journal.

　　Gao Xing said: "Sang Zhihua has deposited the fruits of his years of scientific research activities in the North Xinjiang Museum. Before the completion of the North Xinjiang Museum, many animal fossils in China were used as Chinese herbal medicines. These fossils provided important information for Darwin's theory of evolution. Support is very important for scientific research. Sang Zhihua left most of these fossils in China. What is more commendable is that Sang Zhihua has a very good scientific literacy. Good observations and records have also drawn many maps, which has laid a good foundation for future generations to continue to study and study."

　　"China’s paleontology, archaeology and other basic disciplines originated in the West and were brought into China by Western missionaries and related scholars. In the past two or three decades, with the development of China’s economy and the advancement of science and technology, China’s paleontology and paleontology Disciplines such as science and archaeology have developed rapidly, and have ranked among the forefront of international academic fields." Gao Xing believes that compared with China's rich paleontology and ancient human relic resources and rapid academic development, our country has received more attention in these basic research fields. And the support received is still insufficient. He suggested that we should take basic scientific research to reveal the laws of natural and human evolution, create cultural and spiritual products, improve the cultural literacy of the masses, and improve the national soft power as a major national strategic need, and give corresponding support and encouragement.

　(Reporter Tianjin, June 4th, reporter Liu Qian Chen Jianqiang)