People from around the world jammed telephone lines at the
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) Institute of Vertebrate
Paleontology and Paleoanthropology yesterday after learning of the
death of Jia
Lanpo, who discovered three fossilized Peking Man skulls in
1936.
Jia, senior academician at the CAS and also academic at US and
Russian science academies, died of a cerebral haemorrhage with
complications of viscera failure at 11:44 am on Sunday at the age
of 92. He was sent to Beijing Hospital on March 19 because of
paroxysmal encephalemia.
According to CAS sources, an official funeral is scheduled for
July 16 at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery, where many famous
Chinese people are buried.
In line with his own will, Jia's cremated remains will be placed
in
Zhoukoudian in the southwestern suburbs of Beijing, where the
Peking Man skulls were found.
With his outstanding research on paleontology and
paleoanthropology, Jia was regarded as China's first outstanding
leader in the world of natural sciences in modern times.
After finding the treasured skulls, Jia dated the history of
homo erectus back to 500,000 years ago.
Sticking to the life-long principle, Jia even studied and wrote
books in his 90s.
In addition, being deeply concerned with the Peking Man skull
fossils lost during the War of Resistance Against Japan (1937-45),
Jia, together with 13 CAS senior academicians, published an open
letter asking people across the world to look for the fossils,
whose whereabout is still unknown till today.
(China Daily 07/10/2001)