Archaeologists working at a Shuidonggou relics in Ningxia (2003)

Not long ago, the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology kicked off a special project to

survey paleoanthropologic relics in the country, and to collect and consolidate the basic

data in the area. With a budget approaching RMB 15 million, the 5-year project has been

contracted to CAS Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS

Institute of Geology and Geophysics, and Peking University. The project will work on a

range of basic research areas, including paleoanthropology, archaeology in the Paleolithic

Age, geology in the Quaternary Age, and chronology. The study team will be engaged in

an array of activities, including field investigation, material collection, and survey of major

paleoanthropological and paleolithic relics, in an attempt to understand, restore, and

interpret the collected paleoanthropological facts and findings.

The project will eventually lead to the establishment of China's own paleoanthropological

database and resources platform, ensuring the originality, integrity, and scientific

/authoritative nature of fossilized paleoanthropological evidences and materials.