地层学杂志

1920年,桑志华在甘肃庆阳地区对三趾马动物群化石的系统发掘,是中国古生物学史上具有里程碑意义的科学活动,标志着我国首次运用现代古生物学方法开展大规模发掘,为中国的古脊椎动物学研究和新生代陆相地层对比奠定了重要基础。然而,一个多世纪以来,桑志华发掘的化石地点Sinn kia keou对应的中文地名(存在“辛家沟”与“幸家沟”之争)及其确切地理位置始终悬而未决,制约了相关研究的深入开展。本文通过系统梳理原始档案文献,结合2017年7月与2025年3月赴甘肃庆阳的两次野外实地调查,综合运用文献考证、野外调查和历史影像比对等方法,首次确定了幸家沟化石地点的地理坐标(36°21′20.42″N, 107°47′05.19″E,海拔高度1215 m),并精准识别出桑志华于1920年在该地开展大规模发掘的具体地质剖面。该发现不仅解决了长期以来关于发掘地点的争议,且纠正了多处表述有误之处,更为后续庆阳三趾马动物群化石研究提供了可靠的地层学依据。

In 1920, Émile Licent carried out a systematic excavation of Hipparion Fauna fossils in Qingyang, Gansu Province, which is a landmark of scientific activity in history of Chinese paleontology, marking the first large-scale excavation using modern paleontological methods in China, and laying an important foundation for the study of Cenozoic vertebrate paleontology and the correlation of Cenozoic terrestrial stratigraphy in China. However, the exact geographic coordinates of Sinn kia keou, the fossil site excavated by Émile Licent, and its corresponding Chinese name remain unresolved for more than a century, which has constrained the further development of related research. We systematically reorganized the original documents and carried out two field works in Qingyang, Gansu Province. By comprehensively applying the methods of documentary evidence, field investigations, and historical image comparison, we have determined the geographic coordinates of the fossil site of Sinn kia keou for the first time(36°21′20.42″N, 107°47′05.19″E, altitude 1215 m), and precisely identified the specific geological profile of the large-scale excavation carried out by Émile Licent in 1920. The discovery not only solved the long-standing controversy about the excavation site, but also corrected several misrepresentations, and provided a reliable stratigraphic basis for the subsequent study of Hipparion Fauna fossils in Qingyang.