High Risk, Exploratory Research: Paleoanthropology in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

来自国家科学基金会的资金将支持肯特州立大学、科罗拉多大学博尔德分校和越南地质与矿产部门(DGMV)的学者在古人类学方面开展一项新的合作研究计划。越南很少进行古生物学研究；因此，东南亚灵长类的自然历史基本上是未知的，尽管这一群体的现代成员在任何地理区域都展示了现代灵长类动物的最大多样性。在这个探索项目中，研究人员将调查被绘制为新生代(过去6500万年)的沉积沉积物的灵长类化石区域。这是一项高风险的努力，至少有两个原因。首先，虽然绝大多数灵长类化石来自新生代沉积沉积，但许多沉积沉积并不产生脊椎动物化石。其次，越南的大部分地质测绘都是初步的。然而，这项高风险的研究是因为最近有人认为，已知的最早的类人猿(猴子、猿和人)生活在亚洲，而不是非洲；猿类最初的适应性辐射发生在亚洲，而不是非洲。来自越南的新的灵长类化石将参与这些正在进行的讨论。该项目的联合首席调查人员最近与河内地质博物馆的科学家建立了牢固的研究关系，并启动了一项对越南哺乳动物化石的调查。在2001年期间，他们希望通过扩大对越南地质学的研究和调查更多的化石区域来显著扩大这种合作。由于大约10万年前的灵长类化石在越南是未知的，因此这项研究产生的任何灵长类化石都有可能在理解灵长类古生物地理学、亚洲自然历史以及最终人类进化的基础上显著扩大。

Funding from the National Science Foundation will support the development of a new, cooperative research program in paleoanthropology between scholars at Kent State University, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and the Geological Museum & Department of Geology and Minerals of Vietnam (DGMV). Little paleontological research has been carried out in Vietnam; hence, the natural history of Southeast Asian primates is essentially unknown despite the fact that modern members of this group exhibit the greatest diversity of modern primates for any geographic area. In this exploratory project the researchers will survey areas that have been mapped as sedimentary deposits dating to the Cenozoic (the last 65 million years) for fossil primates. This is a high-risk endeavor for at least two reasons. First, while the vast majority of primate fossils come from Cenozoic sedimentary deposits, many sedimentary deposits do not yield vertebrate fossils. Second, much of the geological mapping in Vietnam is preliminary in nature. This high-risk research is, however, because it has recently been argued that the earliest known anthropoids (monkeys, apes, and people) lived in Asia, not Africa; and that the initial adaptive radiation of apes occurred in Asia, not Africa. New fossil primates from Vietnam would bear on these ongoing discussions. The co-principal investigators of this project have recently developed a strong research relationship with scientists working for the Geologic Museum of Hanoi and have initiated a survey for fossil mammals in Vietnam. During 2001 they hope to significantly expand this collaboration by extending this study of the geology of Vietnam and by surveying additional areas for fossils. Because fossil primates predating about 100,000 years are unknown from Vietnam any primate fossils yielded by this research have the potential to expand significantly upon the understanding of primate paleobiogeography, Asian natural history, and ultimately, human evolution.