Evolutionary History of Mammalian Fauna and Paleoenvironments -Late Cenozoic Eurasia and North America-

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The purpose of this research is to interpret the paleoenvironments and biostratigraphy of Late Cenozoic mammalian fauna and human evolution in the Eastern Eurasia.In 1993, the Japanese and Chinese joint expedition conducted stratigraphical, sedimentological, geochronological and paleontological survey in the Yuanmou Basin, Yunnan Province, Southwest China. The field work was done during the dry season (mainly December) from 1994 to 1996. Paleontologists and geologists surveyed hominid and hominoid sites of Yuanmou Basin in detail, and collected paleoenvironmental and geochronological samples from the late Cenozoic strata of Yuanmoun Basin. Furthermore, Paleontologists researched the late Cenozoic Eurasian mammalian fossils in the many museums of Europe, North America, Asia and East Africa.The following conclusions are reached :1.The age of Hominid fossils from the Yuanmou Formation in this basin was determined by he result of magnetostaratigraphy, correlation with mammalian faunas of North China and climatic change based on pollen analysis. It's age is younger than the age of hominids of the previous researches.2.The result of pollen analysis shows that the late Cenozoic paleoenvironment of the Yuanmou Basin was changed to cooler and dryer climate during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene.3.The age of Hominoid fossil from the Northern part of Yuanmou Basin wad determined by correlation of other Eurasian mammalian faunas only. It's age is older than the age of the Gantang Formation and Yuanmou Formation in the southern part of this basin.We presented this results at the 1995 and 1996 annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (Pittsburgh, New York), and 31st International Geological Congress in Beijing 1996.We plan to research the Late Genozoic environmental change, evolution and correlation of the mammalian fauna in the Siwaliks (India and Nepal) and Southeast Asia (Burma to Vietnam).