bottom of the ravine on the northern bank of the Yellow River seems like
a promising place to start.
To search for such elusive fossils, a highly interdisciplinary and international
team of scientists has converged on this remote corner of central
China. Each member brings a unique set of skills and knowledge to
the table. On the Chinese side are four scientists from the Institute of
Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (or IVPP), a branch of
the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Tong Yongsheng, a veteran of numerous
field campaigns all over the People’s Republic, originally hails from
Zhejiang Province, along China’s southern coastline. A muscular man
of medium build, Tong specializes in small mammals from the Eocene,
especially rodents and insectivores (shrews, hedgehogs, and the like).
Wang Jingwen, who grew up in Beijing, primarily studies ungulates, or
hooved mammals, from the Eocene. Lately, though, Wang has developed
an abiding interest in early primates, which allows the two of us to collaborate
closely on joint research projects. Huang Xueshi boasts the most
eclectic interests of any member of our team, having worked on fossils
ranging in age from Paleocene to Oligocene. Huang’s excellent mastery
of English, combined with his strong local dialect, makes him the object

of the occasional joke. Other Chinese sometimes ask him to speak to them
in English so that they can better understand him! Guo Jianwei, the
youngest Chinese member of the team, focuses on the evolution of ruminant
artiodactyls—the large group of even-toed ungulates that includes
living deer, giraffes, antelopes, goats, and cattle.