golden ear

Chapter 264 The Mystery of the Skull
After finishing the work of the salvage team, Wu Tianyuan returned to the capital. After two days of recuperation, he went to find the National Archives through Niufeng, borrowed a lot of materials about Awa Maru, and finally found many clues in a Japanese army diary.

"You want to salvage the Awamaru?"

Niu Feng was a little surprised at first, but soon became excited and said, "Okay, this thing can be done!"

"Awa Maru has been missing for a long time. There is huge wealth on it, not only gold and jewelry, but mainly BJ's skull. This is also a national treasure among national treasures."

The BJ human skull fossil was discovered by Chinese paleoanthropologist Pei Wenzhong in 1929. Later, archeology officially named this ancient human: Chinese ape-man BJ species, referred to as "BJ man", but this fossil was mysteriously lost in 1941. The loss of the BJ man's skull has become one of the "world wonders" in the history of human archaeology.Since then, there have been various opinions in the archaeological community about the whereabouts of the BJ human skull fossils.

On December 1929, 12, on Longgu Mountain in Zhoukoudian, BJ, Chinese paleoanthropologist Pei Wenzhong discovered for the first time a complete BJ human skull dating back 2 years.

In 1936, under the auspices of Chinese archaeologist Jia Lanpo, three other complete BJ human skulls and one complete human mandible were excavated in Zhoukoudian.

In 1937, Japan launched a war of aggression against China, and archaeological work was forced to stop.

The biggest possibility is that it fell into the hands of the Japanese. In the early morning of December 1941, 12, the BJ human skull boarded the special train to QHD with the US Marine Corps. On the morning of the 5th, the train arrived as planned.On this day, the Japanese army raided Pearl Harbor, and the Japanese troops stationed in North China quickly occupied the American institutions and facilities in Beijing, Tianjin and QHD. The trains and military personnel of the U.S. Marine Corps became prisoners of the Japanese army, including materials including BJ human skulls. Together with the luggage, it became the spoils of the Japanese army.All relevant parties believe that the BJ skull fell into the hands of the Japanese invaders.

The second one has been rumored among the people that the American Legation played a "swapping trick" with the Japanese. On the surface, the fossils were sent to QHD on a special train, but they were secretly sent to Tianjin, where they were going to go to sea.

In the autumn of 1980, American anthropologist Dr. Shapiro came to China. He found out from the archives of the US Marine Corps that the skull of BJ Man had indeed been parked in the US military barracks in Tianjin. In the 20s, a veteran who participated in the war of aggression against China revealed on his deathbed that the skull fossils were hidden in the center of BJ City.However, the results of the excavation were disappointing. No buried objects were found after digging nearly three meters down.

In the March 2012 issue of the South African Journal of Science, experts from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and South African researchers jointly published a research report, claiming to have discovered new clues to the whereabouts of the "BJ Man" skull.Based on the memories of US Marine Corps soldier Richard Bowen during World War II, they came up with the guess that the skull of "BJ Man" might be buried under a parking lot somewhere in QHD, China.

In 1972, the then US President Nixon visited China for the first time. In addition to expressing friendship on the political level and seeking communication on the economic level, Nixon and his party also provided a special gift to the Chinese side.The specific location and cargo list of the sinking of the Japanese Awa Maru in Chinese waters.

The United States hopes to cooperate with the Chinese government to salvage the Awa Maru. It is recorded in the archives about the Awa Maru: the Awa Maru contains handicrafts, artistic products and valuables, which were smuggled out of China by Japan during the war .According to experts' speculation, the BJ human skull fossil may be on the Awa Maru.

In 1977, a project later identified as code-named "713" was officially launched.The goal of the project is to salvage the Awa Maru and reveal the mystery of history.Due to the technical conditions at that time and the physical fitness of divers, it was stopped in 1980.Among the salvaged items, no clues related to BJ's skull were found.

There are various other rumors. For example, before his death in 1996, a Japanese veteran sent news to the relevant Chinese authorities, saying that the fossil was buried under a pine tree in Ritan Park. The pine tree had a special mark. The pine tree was indeed found.

However, when they dug to a depth of more than 2 meters, the experts still did not find any buried objects, let alone any earth breaking phenomenon.Later, the scope of excavation was expanded again, but no buried objects were found.

Later, news came out from Zhoushan, Zhejiang, that the BJ human skull fossils might be on the shipwreck of the "Lisbon Maru".

According to relevant records, in the early morning of October 1942, 10, the transport ship "Lisbon Maru", carrying more than 2 Japanese officers and soldiers, as well as more than 700 British captured personnel and property, was torpedoed and sunk while passing through the waters near Zhoushan. According to the memories of the rescued British prisoners of war, the ship carried a large number of gold treasures and cultural relics looted by the Japanese army, and there may also be "BJ human skull" fossils.

In the 80s, American anthropologist Shapiro said in his book "BJ People" that a former Marine Corps soldier told him that the fossils had been transferred to the US Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin.

On October 1971, 10, according to the executor of the mission of escorting the BJ ape-man fossils abroad, the American doctor Feli said that the box containing the BJ ape-man fossils was placed on the wooden boards in the basement of Building 21 in the compound of the US Marine Corps barracks in Tianjin. layer below.

It is reported that the old barracks have changed hands several times, and now it belongs to Tianjin Health School. Building No. 6 collapsed in the 1976 earthquake, and was later razed to the ground and turned into a playground. When the building was being repaired, even the foundation was dug up, and nothing was found. No.But one thing can be confirmed, the fossils were indeed transported to the barracks.

Niu Feng had studied the whereabouts of the BJ man's skull, and he personally believed that it was on the Awa Maru. He was very excited when he heard that Wu Tianyuan was finally going to hunt for the treasure.

"Leave the formalities to me. Since you personally contribute money and efforts to salvage it, plus your current reputation and status, there is absolutely no problem."

"Once other treasures are found, they can be displayed in the Tianyuan Museum, but BJ's skull has to be handed over to the country, which..."

Wu Tianyuan said indifferently: "No problem. If you find it, you will definitely donate it to the National Museum. I don't really need it here. At most, you can borrow it for a few days."

Watching Niu Feng go through the formalities excitedly, he started salvaging directly when Old Qiao arrived.Wu Tianyuan is really not interested in skulls. Fossils belong to another type of collection. They have higher research and academic value, but their aesthetics are average. What's so good about an ancient skull?

(End of this chapter)