Chinese-Swedish partnerships study fossils in Uppsala

kvinna fotograferar ben

Danhui Sun is from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) in China and specialises in rhinoceroses. Photo: Tobias Sterner

This autumn, the Museum of Evolution in Uppsala has received a visit from several Chinese researchers. While there, they have been exploring the unique collection of fossils that came to Uppsala from China a hundred years ago. Scholarly collaboration between Chinese and Swedish researchers is still alive today.

When we visit the Museum of Evolution, Qin-Qin Shi is deep in the process of 3D-scanning the skull of a gazelle. She works at the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and is in Uppsala for a few weeks of intensive studies. Colleague Danhui Sun explains:

“I specialise in rhinoceroses and have photographed more than 100 specimens. We need photographs, as 3D modelling is not sufficient.

They have travelled all the way to Uppsala because the Museum of Evolution has the largest collection of Chinese fossil vertebrates outside China. The museum houses around 20,000 specimens from China covering several hundred species.

Unique research collaboration

The collection was built up through a unique Swedish-Chinese research collaboration a century ago.

“Even today, many Chinese scientists come here to consult and work on this material. So even though the fossils are ancient, the collection is still very much alive,” notes Jan Romgard ­– Sinologist and Historian of Science at Stockholm University.

Together with Jan Ove Ebbestad, he has written a book about the scientist Otto Zdansky and the history of Swedish-Chinese collaboration.

kvinna fotograferar gasellskalle vid dator

Qin-Qin Shi 3D scanning a gazelle skull. She works at the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Photo: Tobias Sterner

It all started in 1914, when Johan Gunnar Andersson came to China as an adviser. He was a docent at Uppsala University and Director of the Geological Survey of Sweden. In 1918, he launched a Swedish–Chinese exchange with the China Geological Survey in which the two countries jointly excavated fossils in China.

“This was a new generation of very talented Chinese scientists. They were determined to create a modern nation and wanted to do it through modern science,” continues Romgard.

China had no resources or laboratories of its own, but in collaboration with Sweden, fieldwork got underway.

“Together, they went out into the field all over China and collected fossils, with almost everything they found being completely new and unexplored. It was then shipped all the way to Sweden, including Uppsala, where the fossils were scientifically analysed by Professor Carl Wiman and his students.”

Development of Chinese research

Another visitor to the museum this autumn is Li Ruijie, a doctoral student at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing and an exchange student at Kings College London. She has visited libraries and archives in other countries with similar collections, such as the United States and France. However, Sweden was the first to start collaborating with China in this area.

“From my perspective having read through this archive, I would say that this collaboration was a shortcut to developing Chinese research. At that time, China lacked its own resources and equipment. When Chinese researchers collaborated with researchers from Sweden or America, these collaborations were mutually beneficial,” says Li.

massor av olika fossiler

The museum houses around 20,000 specimens from China covering several hundred species. Photo: Tobias Sterner

The Museum of Evolution was built in the 1930s precisely to house the large collection of fossils and to showcase the most interesting discoveries in a museum. Some of the gems include the teeth of Peking Man and the remains of mammals that lived between one and five million years ago.

“As it is scientifically published material, we have an obligation to make it available to researchers – not just Chinese researchers, but the entire research community. That is what gives collections like this their scholarly weight. It should be accessible, as these are reference specimens for these species,” explains Jan Ove Ebbestad, curator at the Museum of Evolution.

Go to the original

The original publications remain in bookcases lining the walls, containing descriptions of the various fossils in both Swedish and Chinese. Once upon a time, when these facts were written down, researchers did not have access to all the technology that those of today have.

“To understand the remains of a hippopotamus, for example, we would need to go back to the original specimen, which is known as the holotype. But with modern technology, we can now digitise these holotypes using 3D scanning, making it easier to share and examine fossil data as a high-resolution visualisation”, notes Benjamin Kear, curator and researcher at the Museum of Evolution.

man vid skrivbord bakom ben i bokhylla

Li Yangfan, a post-doctoral researcher from Northwest University in Xi'an, is here on a nine-month study visit to study horse fossils in the Chinese collection. Photo: Tobias Sterner

In another collection room sits Li Yangfan, a researcher from Northwest University in Xi'an. He is here on a nine-month post-doctoral visit to study fossil horses. Right now he is studying a skull.

“I am a palaeontologist and I study the morphology of fossils. Studying these holotypes is very important for my research,” he says.

His Chinese-Swedish joint-project is funded by the China Scholarship Council. The Museum of Evolution is also expanding collaborations with IVPP by hosting a co-supervised doctoral student in 2025 to reconstruct the evolution of fossil giraffes.

porträtt av Ben med hyllor med fossil i bakgrunden

“A major challenge for the Museum of Evolution is the conservation of these scientifically significant fossil collections,” says Benjamin Kear, curator and researcher at the Museum of Evolution.

Conservation challenging

The mammal fossils date from a time of climatic changes that culminated in the ice ages. Globally landscapes shifted from forests to grasslands, and climates became cooler, drier and more seasonal. Due to these changes, various animal species migrated from Africa and across Europe to China.

“A major challenge for the Museum of Evolution is the conservation of these scientifically significant fossil collections. We desperately need infrastructural support and aim to raise awareness through our exciting new collaborations with Chinese partner institutions. These collections are not only important for Chinese, but also Swedish cultural heritage. This cutting-edge research will build bridges between our countries,” continues Kear.

Annica Hulth

The Museum of Evolution collections

  • The Museum of Evolution fossil vertebrate collections are the largest in Scandinavia, and include a substantial number of scientifically described specimens. Vertebrate palaeontology was established in Sweden because of these collections.
  • The collections are also internationally representative housing many important fossils from Sweden, Svalbard, USA, Madagascar, Germany, England, Greenland and China.
  • The fossils from China are known as the Lagrelius Collection, and came to Uppsala University through a bilateral government agreement between China and Sweden in the 1920s.

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