Fossilized Pelvis of Elephants Discovered in Ruzhou, Henan

Fossilized Pelvis of Elephants Discovered in Ruzhou, Henan

河南汝州发现古象盆骨化石

 

"Henan (河南)" is abbreviated as "Yu (豫)", which is composed by a hieroglyph "象" meaning elephant in English. The left and right parts of the hieroglyph "豫" seem like a person holding an elephant. The legend is that Henan was recognized as the land of elephants in ancient times. At present, many symbols are designed with elephant figures across the province.

一个人手牵大象状，即河南古名“豫”的象形。据说在古时代，河南被称作牵象之地，如今更是有许多与大象有关的标志。

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Is it true that elephants were found in ancient Henan or not?

那么问题来了，河南古代到底有大象吗？

 

In recent days, around the Jianshankou Reservoir in Wenquan town of Ruzhou, a county-level city in Pingdingshan of Henan province, some animal bones were washed out from the river, which have been identified by the experts from Henan Natural History Museum as the fossilized pelvis of elephants.

近日，在平顶山市汝州温泉镇涧山口水库一带，因河水冲刷暴露出类似动物骨骼的物体，经河南自然博物馆专家鉴别，初步确定为大象盆骨化石。

Fossilized pelvis of elephants. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

 

"That morning, we found these bones while we were patrolling the north side of the Niujian River's temporary spillway, and at a steep slope (50 meters east of the bone site) on the south bank, we also discovered some scattered rocky grayish white objects in two semicircular pits," said Li Feng from the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources of Ruzhou on September 7.

“那天上午，我们在牛涧河临时泄洪道北侧巡查隐患时，发现了这些骨骼，并在该点东边50米处的南岸陡坎处，发现有两处半圆形坑迹和散落的岩石状灰白色物体。”9月7日，在古象盆骨化石发现现场，汝州市地矿局工作人员李峰介绍。

 

To make a confirmation whether the bones are animal fossils, Li and his colleagues returned to the site to observe carefully and take photos closely. After comparing with the online fossil photos, they made a preliminary confirmation that what they had discovered are animal fossils indeed. Therefore, they reported the evidence to Henan Natural History Museum immediately.

为了确认这些骨骼是否是动物化石，李峰和同事当天下午再次到现场，近距离观察、拍照，并与网上化石照片对比，初步确定为某种动物化石，第一时间联系了河南自然博物馆。

The Niujian River. [Photo provided to Henan Daily]

Xu Li, head of Henan Natural History Museum, at once set off to Ruzhou with geological prospecting experts. Preliminary identification suggests that the animal bones are fossilized pelvis of elephants and the scattered rocky grayish white objects in two semicircular pits are fossilized ivories. Besides, partially broken bones and ivories were also found in the soil excavated from the river.

河南自然博物馆馆长徐莉带领地质勘探专家，立即赶往汝州进行勘查。经鉴定，初步认为牛涧河临时泄洪道北侧的物体为大象盆骨化石；散落在半圆形坑迹的为象牙化石；在开挖河道翻出的土层里，也找到部分破碎的骨骼和象牙。

 

"The latest data shows that it is the first discovery of fossilized elephant bones in Ruzhou," said Xu. Alongside the river, experts also discovered more paleontological fossils of ancient cattle or rhinoceros.

“根据现有资料，这是汝州市有历史记载以来首次发现大象骨骼化石。”徐莉说。随后，专家组继续沿河勘察时，又发现了多处古生物化石，经过专家们初步鉴定，可能是古原牛或犀牛化石。

 

According to Zhang Tianyi, a professor-level senior engineer from the Institute of Natural Resources Research of Henan, this suggests that tropical plants and animals had existed here from 10,000 to 40,000 years ago and then died out due to the climate and environmental changes. The discovery of paleontological fossils provides crucial data for scientific research on climate changes in the Central Plains and the classification of paleontologies.

省自然资源科学研究院教授级高级工程师张天义说，据此可以判断，在一万年至四万年前的区间里，有一些热带植物、动物在这里生存，后来因为气候和环境变化而消失。这次古生物化石的发现，对中原气候的变迁和古生物的分类等科学方面的研究，提供了非常关键的数据。（中文来源/河南日报 翻译/赵汉青 视频/实习生王君艺 审校/焦丹）