Fossils of mammals four million years old have been found in this southwest China metropolis, including a stegodon tooth, a rhinoceros horn, and bear and wild ox bones.
The fossils were accidentally discovered during civil engineering work.
Zhou Shiwu, an expert at the Chongqing Museum, said that the fossils belong to the Quaternary Period of the Cenozoic Era. At that time, the climate was humid and warm in the area where Chongqing now stands.
A drastic change in the climate resulted in prehistoric animals like the stegodon becoming extinct, he said.
The fossils are useful data for the study of the climate, environment and geological conditions of the Chongqing area in those times, he said.
Meanwhile, work has been suspended at the site of origin of the fossils.
(People's Daily)
