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

美国国家科学基金会将资助肯特州立大学、科罗拉多大学博尔德分校和越南地质博物馆及地质矿物部（DGMV）的学者开展一个新的古人类学合作研究项目。在越南很少进行古生物学研究；因此，东南亚灵长类动物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表现出最大的现代灵长类动物多样性。在这个探索项目中，研究人员将调查那些已经被绘制成沉积沉积物的地区，这些沉积物可以追溯到新生代（过去的6500万年）的灵长类化石。这是一个高风险的尝试，至少有两个原因。首先，虽然绝大多数灵长类动物化石来自新生代的沉积层，但许多沉积层并不产生脊椎动物化石。其次，越南的许多地质测绘工作本质上是初步的。然而，这种高风险的研究是，因为最近有人认为，已知最早的类人猿（猴子、猿和人）生活在亚洲，而不是非洲；猿最初的适应性辐射发生在亚洲，而不是非洲。来自越南的新灵长类化石将对这些正在进行的讨论产生影响。该项目的联合首席研究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，并开始对越南的哺乳动物化石进行调查。在2001年期间，他们希望通过扩大对越南地质的研究和调查更多地区的化石，大大扩大这种合作。由于在越南尚未发现距今约10万年的灵长类动物化石，因此本研究获得的任何灵长类动物化石都有可能大大扩展对灵长类动物古生物地理学、亚洲自然历史以及最终人类进化的理解。

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.