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Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology

Chinese research institution

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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionNov 2, 2025
Entity authorityQ1504916
Source-derived summary

The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP; Chinese: 中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所) of China is a research institution and collections repository for fossils, including many dinosaur and pterosaur specimens (many from the Yixian Formation). As its name suggests, research is focused on both paleontological topics and those relating to human prehistory.

The institution, located in Beijing, grew out of the Cenozoic Research Laboratory in 1929 and is its own institution under the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Its staff have increasingly worked internationally, participating in the China-Canada Dinosaur Project from 1986 to 1991 and authoring or coauthoring forty-five Nature and Science articles from 1999 to 2005. Notable paleontologists who have been affiliated with the IVPP include Yang Zhongjian (also known as C. C. Young), Dong Zhiming, Meemann Chang and Zhao Xijin.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology” as chinese research institution. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Institute, Vertebrate and Paleontology.

Editorial reviewA strong contextual entry point for chronology, institutions and public events when official records are distinguished from later interpretation. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1929, 1986, 1991, 1999—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1929. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Institute, Vertebrate and Paleontology providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology”, the useful work is to connect “chinese research institution” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Nov 2, 2025. The linked authority identifier is Q1504916. VIAF identifies the subject as 138346612. The Library of Congress control number is n50072258. Authority coordinates are 39.936, 116.328. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1929, 1986, 1991 and 1999.

Critical limits

Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
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Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology primary sources, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology archive and Institute research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology”?
  2. Who created the surviving record, and for what administrative purpose?
  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.