Mikael Fortelius, a professor of Evolutionary Paleontology at the University of Helsinki, told IRNA on Saturday that archaeologists have unearthed some fossils dating back more than 8 million years in Maragheh county, East Azerbaijan Province; however, there are more potentials for excavations in this region.
If archaeologists can unearth fossils dating back to around 11 or 12 million years ago, the fossil site of Maragheh would become more important than ever, he noted.
There are some fossils of about eight-million-year savanna animals in the fossil site of Maragheh, he said, adding that they were found after a while in Saudi desert and Africa.
So, unknown points on ancient climate records at that time, movement of continents and evolution should be studied, which give importance to Palaeontology in this site, he noted.
Professor Fortelius visited Maragheh in several occasions in 2000s. He conducted some researches on the fossil site of Maragheh.
The coordinator of the Neogene of the Old World database of fossil mammals went on to say that numerous people around the globe are keen on getting acquainted with information about fossils, so the site can attract many foreign tourists.
Gholamreza Zare, the head of the Department of Environment in Maragheh, said that the fossil site of Maragheh is part of migration routes of mammals among Europe, Africa, and East Asia; therefore, the site is of great importance in this respect.
According to Iranian authorities as well as archaeological researches, fossils of animals excavated in the fossil site of Maragheh belong to ancestors of the existing creatures in Africa; thus, the National Paleontology Research Center has been established in Maragheh city.
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