Research on the Origin of HumansThe Discovery of Human, Dinosaur, and Monkey Footprint Fossils on the Coast of Juehua Island in Western Liaoning, China

In 2023, Jin Chunhua, a teacher at Liaoning Technical University, first discovered a fossil track assemblage of humans, dinosaurs, their nests, monkeys, and other animals on the coast of Juehua Island, Xingcheng, western Liaoning Province, China. Subsequently, she led a research team to the island to conduct preliminary photographic documentation, measurements, and replication of the 3D models trackways. Preliminary identification and analysis revealed that the tracks included those of humans, dinosaurs, and primates. The rock strata preserving the tracks exhibited characteristics of a palaeo-coastal tidal flat. Taxonomic attribution and locomotor patterns were determined mainly based on evidence，including the geometric outlines, dimensional parameters, plantar pressure distributions, and stratigraphic positions of the tracks. Human tracks consisted of adults and children, both shod and unshod, exhibiting standing, walking, and running behaviors. Dinosaur tracks included theropods, sauropods, and a newly discovered webbed-footed morphotype. Primate tracks resembled the hand and footprints of macaques. Traces indicative of advanced civilizations were also present, such as depictions of humans riding horses, stone tools, and boat anchors. Studies of the track-bearing coastal strata and the overstep structures in western Liaoning showed that a common geological event occurred in the track-bearing coastal area and western Liaoning during the Early Cretaceous. The tracks on the Juehua Island coast are closely related to the Jehol Biota of western Liaoning. The discovery and study of these fossil tracks confirmed that human ancestors coexisted with dinosaurs. Human civilization was far more advanced than that of contemporaneous dinosaurs and primates, indicating that humans did not evolve from primates. Thus, the discovery of fossil tracks on Juehua Island, western Liaoning, China, provides important clues for research on human origins, human civilization and history, dinosaur evolution, classification, and extinction, as well as the origin and evolution of animals.