Fossils reveal that humans first migrated to Southeast Asia 68,000 years ago

Modern humans may have first migrated to mainland Southeast Asia between 86,000 and 68,000 years ago, according to new fossil remains. Tam Pà Ling Cave, north of Laos.

These findings represent the first known evidence of existence Homo sapiens in mainland Southeast Asia and allows us to improve knowledge of the timing and route of the spread of modern humans towards East Asia and finally Australia.

Previous genetic data suggest multiple dispersals of Homo sapiens from Africa to Australia, but fossil evidence from Southeast Asia is limited.

New fossils discovered in Tam Pà Ling Cave prove “beyond doubt” that modern humans spread long distances from Africa to Arabia and Asia. Sooner than expectedAccording to a team of researchers.

Publishing study Natural communication Evidence found at Tam Pa Ling indicates that modern humans made their way through Asia between 86,000 and 68,000 years ago. Australia’s first city.

This delays arrival to mainland Southeast Asia by about 40,000 years, although genetically, these early migrations did not significantly contribute to our current population.

That temporal arc was provided by radiometric dating of the tibia and skull found in the cave. The latter, according to the authors, is “much more graceful or delicate than expected,” thus resembling the morphology of more recent Homo sapiens from Asia.

The authors suggest that this may indicate the person’s ancestry Dispersed people in the regionInstead of local people who provide very strong characteristics.

The chronology and form of these fossils may support genetic evidence for a failed early dispersal into Australia.

Additionally, the findings confirm that human dispersals throughout this period were complex and add to our understanding of hominin diversity in northern Laos.

This evidence also proves that our ancestors didn’t just follow the coast They were able to pass through wooded areas and probably also in inland river systems.

Tam Pà Ling “plays an important role in the story of the migration of modern humans through Asia, but its importance and value is only now being recognized,” said Demeter of the University of Copenhagen, one of the paper’s lead authors.

The study provides enough dating evidence to say with certainty when Homo sapiens first arrived in the region, how long they stayed and what route they may have taken, said Kira Westway of Macquarie University in Australia, who co-authored the paper. .

Tam Pà Ling cave is the closest to the recently discovered cave Cobra CaveBy 70,000 years ago the Denisovans were frequent.

Although there is no evidence of an early arrival in mainland Southeast Asia, the region may have been a dispersal route used by our ancestors long before Homo sapiens, the researchers said.

(with information from EFE)

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