People all know that man evolved from apes. However, where did the common ancestor of man and ape come from? On this issue, archaeologists have different inferences. However, the discovery of "eosimias centennicus fossils" in Yuanqu County of Yuncheng City in the 1990s proves that Yuncheng may be the birthplace of mankind.
Eosimias is the oldest ape discovered so far. Before that, the viewpoints about the cradle of mankind changed between continents due to the continuous excavation of human fossils. In 1856 and 1907, the discovery of Neanderthals and Heidelberg in Germany respectively made the theory of “Europe-the cradle of mankind” popular in the world. In the 1960s, after archaeologists discovered a large number of early higher primate fossils represented by Egyptian Fayoum in Africa, “Africa-the cradle of mankind” prevailed again. From 1994 to 1997, researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a large number of teeth, jaws and other fossils with higher primate characteristics in Yuanqu County.
After carefully examining and studying the fossils jointly by Chinese and American scientists, they named it "eosimias centennicus fossils" and confirmed that they were formed 40 million years ago. At that time, there were warm and moist climate, crisscrossed lakes, green mountains and fresh water, high trees and dense forests, which was very suitable for the survival and reproduction of ancient organisms. Later, scientists from the two countries jointly published a research paper in the authoritative British scientific journal Nature, published on March 16, 2000. Scientists believed that the "eosimias centennicus" was the earliest ancestor of higher primates including humans found on the earth so far. They lived in the Middle Eocene between 45 million and 40 million years ago. In this way, China is likely to be the birthplace of higher primates including human beings, and Yuanqu the earliest birthplace of human beings. Mr. Jia Lanpo, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a famous archaeologist, once highly commented that the discovery of ancestors of higher primates "is another extremely important discovery in archaeology and biology in China in the 20th century" and its significance "can be comparable to the discovery of Peking Man in Zhoukoudian".
It not only shows that eosimias is a member of a very primitive primate family, but also helps to solve a long-standing controversial issue, namely, where does the lineage of anthropoid apes come from in the primate family. On April 11, 2000, the People's Daily, with the title of "Human Ancestors Originated in China", reported on the "eosimias centennicus" and its research results, pointing out: "Experts believe that the discovery of the "eosimias centennicus" in Yuanqu County, Shanxi Province has overturned the assertion that "Human beings originated in Africa "and pushed forward the appearance of the ape by 10 million years."
The "eosimias centennicus" has added mysterious color to Yuanqu County, the ancient cultural region where it was discovered, which has attracted the attention of China and even the whole world. At present, Yuanqu County has already carried out the "Human Ancestor Park" project, which has invested 120 million RMB to meticulously build a world-class brand. It will rely on natural landscapes such as Xiaolangdi Reservoir Area of the Yellow River and Lishan National Forest Park to form a comprehensive park with high mountains, steep cliffs, lakes and mountains, caves, forests and waterfalls. It will integrate foreign cultural exchanges, tourism, leisure and entertainment, so that people from afar can fully appreciate the long and profound history of the Yellow River culture. After the park is completed and put into use, Yuanqu County will also declare the world cultural heritage, making it the common wealth of people all over the world.
