Reports
Program No.18-036
Morphological Study on the fossil hominoids in the Late Cenozoic of
Southeast Asia.
Yutaka Kunimatsu
11th Febriary,2007 - 25th Febriary,2007
Today, orangutans and gibbons live in Southeast Asia. Their
evolutionary history is not well known at present. Some orangutan and
gibbon fossils have been reported from Pleistocene fossil sites, but
fossil hominoids of older ages are quite rare in this region. I have been
searching for hominoid fossils in Southeast Asia, in collaboration with
geologists and paleontologists. In February of 2007, I carried out a
paleontological fieldwork in Thailand and examined Pleistocene orangutan
and gibbon fossils in the Archaeological Institute of Vietnam. In
Thailand, I visited the Chiang Muan lignite mine, and looked for fossils
at outcrops of Middle to Late Miocene sediments in the mine. Some fossils
of orangutan-sized hominoids have been discovered from the Chiang Muan
mine. In this fieldwork, additional specimens of fossil mammals, which are
contemporaneous to the hominoids, were collected. Moreover, I visited Mae
Long in the Li Basin, south of Chiang Mai, and sieved several large bags
of clay, which seemed to contain fossils. As a result, fossils of some
small animals like rodents were picked up, confirming that the clay
sediments at Mae Long is still fossiliferous. In Vietnam, I visited the
Archaeological Institute in Hanoi. I examined the specimens of fossil
orangutans and gibbons discovered from several limestone cave sites. In
addition, I checked the animal remains from the Holocene Han Cho site,
together with Dr. Junmei Sawada of St. Marianna Medical College, and
picked up primate specimens. I also discuss the research of primate
fossils in Vietnam, with Dr. Vu The Long and other members of the
Archaeological Institute.
Chiang Muan coal field in Northern Thailand.
Middle to Late Miocene fossils, including large hominoids, have been
discovered.
Archaeological Institute of Vietnam in Hanoi.
HOPE Project< >
|