This file photo shows Wu Rukang, one of China's most important paleoanthropologist. (PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

An asteroid has been named after Wu Rukang, arguably China's most important paleoanthropologist, to commemorate his academic contributions to Chinese physical anthropology and paleoanthropology studies.

The naming ceremony took place on Monday, exactly 14 years after Wu died, at the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Museum in Beijing where Wu did extensive research on Peking Man fossils. His body is buried at the Zhoukoudian Peking Man heritage site.

Wu, who was also an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was born in Jiangsu province in 1916 and died in Beijing in 2006. From 1946 to 1949, he studied anatomy in the United States at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and received his doctorate in 1949. He returned to China that year and continued his research at the academy's Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in 1953.

The naming ceremony took place on Monday, exactly 14 years after Wu died, at the Zhoukoudian Peking Man Museum in Beijing where Wu did extensive research on Peking Man fossils. His body is buried at the Zhoukoudian Peking Man heritage site

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Chinese paleoanthropology started in the 1920s when a group of fossil specimens of Homo erectus, later identified as Peking Man, was excavated in the Zhoukoudian area. However, studies on these fossils were mostly conducted by Western experts, prompting Wu to expand his research to paleoanthropology.

After returning to China, Wu carried out profound comparative research on ape and human fossils unearthed from 1949 to 1966 and released many firsthand descriptions, making him the first Chinese physical anthropologist to study human fossils discovered in the country.

His research reports on Homo erectus and Homo sapiens fossils found in many areas across the country remained must-read references for today's paleoanthropologists.

One of the biggest achievements of Wu's research was his findings on the imbalance of physical development in the process of human evolution based on his research on Peking Man fossils. He discovered that Peking Man's skull and teeth, for example, are more primitive than limb bones, meaning body parts did not evolve at the same speed.

Regarding the debate on how to distinguish humans from apes, traditional archaeologists believed the major distinction was whether the creature could make tools. But Wu pioneered the idea that the evolution from ape to human required a long transition period. Being able to walk upright marks the beginning of that period, while starting to make tools marks the end, Wu theorized.

Wu also established the new academic field of neo-anthropology.

"When he started his research in the institute in the 1950s, no one there was actually engaged in anthropology," said 84-year-old academician Qiu Zhanxiang, who is a vertebrate paleontologist.

"He was arguably the pioneer and flag-bearer in this field in the country," Qiu said, adding that many of Wu's discoveries laid the foundation for the development of Chinese anthropology.

To commemorate Wu's outstanding achievements, the International Astronomical Union approved the naming of the asteroid coded 317452, which was discovered in 2010 by the Purple Mountain Observatory, also a CAS subsidiary.

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Zhao Haibin, a researcher from the observatory, said the minor planet is located between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter in the solar system.

He said many asteroids have been named after well-known people in a bid to remember their contributions in a certain field. Once the naming of an asteroid is approved by the IAU, it will become permanent and recognized by the world. Therefore, it is considered a "great international honor".

"Naming an eternal planet after Wu Rukang reflects the international community's praise for his academic achievements and scientific spirit," said Deng Tao, head of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.

"It is also a great spiritual inspiration to researchers engaged in Chinese paleontology and paleoanthropology," he added.