Tag: laos

In a surprising turn of events, Denisovan fossils have emerged in an unexpected location, challenging established notions of their habitat. Archaeologists recently uncovered a 160,000 to 130,000-year-old Denisovan tooth in the remote Annamite Mountains of northern Laos, far from the previously identified Siberian cave. This finding unveils a new chapter in the Denisovan story, showcasing their adaptability to diverse environments. These archaic humans, identified solely through DNA until now, not only endured the freezing climes of southern Siberia and adapted to high altitudes in Tibet but also thrived in the tropical caves of Laos—a feat accomplished a staggering 100,000 years earlier than modern humans.

The significance of this discovery extends beyond the individual tooth. The meticulous analysis of the enamel, lacking wear and tear, points to a young Denisovan girl aged between three and a half and eight and a half years. Despite the scarcity of Denisovan fossils, this solitary tooth challenges assumptions about their geographical range. While drawing conclusions from a lone find is risky, the revelation underscores the richness of surprises awaiting discovery in Southeast Asia’s fossil record. The Denisovans’ ability to cross significant biogeographic barriers, like Wallace’s Line, raises intriguing questions about their capabilities and interactions with other human species. The complexity of these interbreeding events, revealed through advanced genetic analyses, reshapes our understanding of the Denisovans’ place in the human family tree.

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In the bowels of a Laotian cave, illuminated by faint sunlight and bright lamps, scientists have unearthed the earliest known evidence of our human ancestors making their way through mainland Southeast Asia en route to Australia some 86,000 years ago.

Any trace of human remains is a delight for archaeologists – but none more so when they dust off a discovery, date it, and realize it could push back timelines of early human migration in an area by more than ten thousand years.

The international team of researchers behind this new discovery dug deeper than others had gone before in a karst cave in northern Laos, unearthing a skull fragment with delicate features, and the shard of a leg bone.

They estimate the two human fossils are between 86,000 and 68,000 years old, by using five different dating techniques to reconstruct the timeline of the cave site in which early humans sheltered on their journeys southward.

Tam Pà Ling Cave, where the bones were found, has a deep history of human occupation, though it is a contested one. A handful of human fossils including two jawbones previously found in shallower layers of sediments – shipped to the United States for study before being returned home to Laos – have dated to between 70,000 and 46,000 years old.

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