The great leader Comrade
"In view of its geological structure, the earth of our country fully passed through the Cenozoic era, when humans originated, and had the natural and geographical conditions for the birth of humans."
Lots of mammalian fossils were discovered along with human fossils at the Chongphadae cave site in Hwangju County, the Taehung cave site in Sangwon County, North Hwanghae Province, and so on, which are remains from the latter Paleolithic age that were surveyed and unearthed in the Taedong River basin of the DPRK, and fossils of mammals were also found in Maeri Cave in Sungho County.
Among the mammalian fossils discovered, there were also fossilized monkey bones, which correspond to the upper Pleistocene in period and Macaca mulatta in taxonomic position.
Five pieces (J-9-11, J-9-4, J-12-54, J-12-68 and J-12-153) of monkey jawbone fossils were found at the Chongphadae cave site, one (C-730) at the Taehung cave site and one (ED-724) in Maeri Cave.
The fossilized monkey bones discovered are seen in the picture.
1, 2-J-9-11 (left jawbone) chewing surface and side; 3, 4-J-9-4 (left jawbone) chewing surface and side; 5, 6-J-12-54 (left jawbone) chewing surface and side; 7, 8-J-12-68 (right jawbone) chewing surface and side; 9, 10-J-12-153 (right jawbone) chewing surface and side; 11, 12-ED-724 (right jawbone) chewing surface and side; and 13-C-370 (jawbone).
The fossilized monkey bones from the Upper Pleistocene found in the Taedong River basin are of great significance in studying the natural environment in the Asian region including the DPRK in the Paleolithic era and the origin and evolution of monkeys.
The details were published in the Palaeoworld journal under the title of "First Record of Macaca mulatta (Cercopithecidae: Papionini) from the Taedong River Basin, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palwor.2022.09.008).
