Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS
Research - Dongcheng District, Beijing, China
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS Employees
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS Details
The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), is one of world's premiere paleontological institutions. IVPP researchers study the institute's namesake disciplines, vertebrate paleontology and paleoanthropology, and their related areas of geological and biological sciences as well as Paleolithic archaeology. Vertebrate paleontological research focuses on the morphology, taxonomy, phylogeny, paleoecology, and spatial and temporal distribution of the various vertebrate groups, as well as other relevant biogeographical, paleoclimatological, developmental and molecular biological problems. The paleoanthrological study mainly deals with origin and evolutionary history of fossil human and Paleolithic archeology. Moreover, the study of applied anthropology and physical anthropology has also been emphasized in recent years. The institute employs 170 staff members, including four members of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and about 74 researchers holding high-ranking professional posts. In addition, a skilled technical team supports the research enterprise, preparing, casting and molding, and drawing and photographing fossils. IVPP is equipped with state-of-the-art lab equipment, including 3D micro-CT, an electron microscope, precision cutting machines, grinding machines, polarized light microscopes, and laser-scanning confocal microscopes, etc. It also enjoys financial support from various grant agencies due to its excellent research output. The institute edits and publishes four periodicals, Vertebrata PalAsiatica, Acta Anthropologica Sinica, Fossils and Dinosaur. The institute has Asia's greatest collection of vertebrate and human fossils with more than 220,000 catalogued specimens. It also boasts the Paleozoological Museum of China, which has three stories of spacious exhibition halls and attracts tens of thousands of visitors annually.
