"Or to be more precise, you are here for the bj skull!"
When Meng Shaoyuan said these words, Cheng Yiran's entire face changed color.
bj human skull!
In his book "The Origin of Species", Darwin made a shocking point:
Human beings are products of evolution.
Four years later, based on Darwin, Huxley used comparative anatomy, embryology, paleontology and other aspects of knowledge to explain in detail the relationship between animals and humans, demonstrated the position of humans in nature, and proposed for the first time that humans , The theory that apes share the same ancestor.
However, biological and archaeological evidence that can support the evolution of humans from ancient apes has not yet been discovered.
At that time, the older generation of archaeologists in our country were under great pressure and engaged in archaeological surveys and excavations with a sense of patriotism. The major discovery that is truly an international sensation is the unearthing of the skull of bj ape-man!
With the support of the Rockefeller Foundation, more systematic archaeological excavation work was launched in the Zhoukoudian area.
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To the delight of the world again, on December 2, 1929, Chinese archaeologist Mr. Pei Wenzhong discovered a complete human skull for the first time!
After identification, the skull was estimated to have lived between 700,000 and 200,000 years ago.
Previously, the fossils of Homo erectus that have been discovered mainly include Homo erectus from Java and Homo neanderthalensis and Homo heidelbergensis from Germany.
However, the three aforementioned discoveries were not widely recognized by the academic community at the time, but were rather controversial. This makes it unclear whether there was a Homo erectus stage in the history of human evolution.
The discovery of the skull of Homo bj has irrefutably confirmed that Homo erectus did exist and once lived in East Asia.
At the same time, during the excavation, relics of fire use were also discovered, indicating that the BJ people were already able to use fire and knew how to preserve fire.
Judging from the age alone, bj ape-man is not the earliest human being, but it is indeed the representative of the intermediate link from ape to human. Therefore, it is called "the most meaningful and touching discovery in the entire history of ancient humans."
This precious BJ human skull is stored in BJ Union Medical College Hospital.
In 1941, the Japanese army began to occupy some American institutions in Peiping. Some insightful people foresee that with the intensification of conflicts between the United States and Japan, Union Medical College Hospital will not be safe. At that time, the Cenozoic Research Laboratory, which was responsible for preserving the BJ skull, had to find another safe place to store it.
After discussions, a total of three plans were proposed, the third of which was to transport these national treasures to the United States for temporary storage.
In contrast, secretly transporting five BJ human skulls to the United States in the name of transferring American assets is the safest of the three plans.
The person in charge of this consignment was a U.S. Marine Corps medic named Foley, and the two wooden boxes containing the skulls of BJ apes were mixed in 27 boxes of luggage to conceal them from others.
The first half of the delivery mission went smoothly. According to Foley's recollection, the special train transporting the BJ skull successfully arrived at QHD, and then Foley's assistant Davis received the special luggage mixed with confidential wooden boxes.
Davis also made it clear that he retrieved the luggage and clearly remembered that it was 27 boxes, and then placed the luggage in his room.
After being placed, Foley and Davis waited for their departure to the United States the next day.
However, the very next day, December 8, 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Subsequently, the United States declared war on Japan, and the Pacific War broke out.
At the same time, the Japanese army began to rapidly invade and occupy American institutions in China, including the U.S. Marine Corps barracks in QHD. Foley, Davis and others who were responsible for and participated in the escort of BJ's ape-man skull became Prisoners of the Japanese Army.
As for the whereabouts of BJ's ape-man skull, this is the end of the story.
Cheng Yiran came here to find the bones.
What bone could be worth taking such a big risk?
He is from BJ University.
Pei Wenzhong, who first discovered the BJ skull, also graduated from the Geology Department of BJ University!
Therefore, Meng Shaoyuan had reason to believe that Cheng Yiran came here just for the bj skull!
Cheng Yiran's information is relatively accurate.
It is very likely that the human skull fell into the hands of the Japanese.
And according to subsequent revelations, the precious BJ skull was first sent to Singapore, and then transported to Manila along with a large number of cultural relics, ready to find opportunities to transport it back to Japan.
There is also a more clear statement that the BJ skull last appeared on the "Awa Maru".
However, the revelation ends here. The BJ skull was lost forever with the sinking of the "Awa Maru".
This is a treasure belonging to the Chinese nation!
Since the late Qing Dynasty, due to the country's poverty and weakness, Western powers and even the emerging Japan have judged China through tinted glasses.
Ragubelli of the University of London in the United Kingdom proposed that the Yellow Emperor, the ancestor of the Chinese nation, migrated from Babylon.
Since then, many Western scholars have put forward similar views, tending to believe that Chinese civilization originated from the West. After modern archeology was introduced to China, although many important cultural relics were discovered one after another, many foreign experts and scholars still hold prejudices against Eastern civilization.
For example, in the 1820s, Anderson discovered prehistoric painted pottery in Henan and Gansu and found that these painted potteries were similar to those in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. He proposed that this kind of painted pottery was introduced to China from the West, making Chinese civilization more Western. The impact is greater.
However, with the discovery of the BJ skull, this absurd Western theory was quickly overturned!
It's okay if there is no whereabouts of BJ's skull.
But now that we have seen hope, with Master Meng’s character, how could he be allowed to disappear again?
Seeing that Cheng Yiran said nothing, Meng Shaoyuan was not anxious: "Professor Cheng, you don't admit it, do you? I respect you intellectuals very much, and I am not willing to torture you.
However, if you think about it carefully, how meaningful would it be if you could see the skull of a bj man again in your lifetime? And maybe I can help you accomplish this purpose. "
Nothing moved Cheng Yiran more than these words.
He looked up and asked, "Really?"
So naive.
Meng Shaoyuan sighed in his heart.
When you say this, you are directly admitting that you are here just for the bj skull.
He nodded seriously: "I will not deceive a scholar."
Cheng Yiran finally said: "Yes, I came here just for the skull of Homo bj. I am Pei Wenzhong's classmate and colleague. Later, after Pei Wenzhong went to France to study paleoanthropology, Mr. Jia Lanpo and I continued to stay in Zhoukoudian to excavate.
The human skulls belong to China and no one can take them away, even if these skulls fall into your hands now! "
