Recent dredging operations on the Java coast have Fossil evidence discovered That reorganizes what scientists thought they knew about the mobility of ancient human ancestors. Among the sediment recovered from the Indonesian seabed there were two Skull fragments of Homo erectA discovery that marks the first time The remains of this species have been found under the ocean among the islands in Southeast Asia.
The fossil discovery suggests islands once connected
As part of a marine construction project, the unexpectedly underwater dredging raised vertebrate fossils, including the Homo erect remains. The researchers quickly realized that this meant that the area now submerged by the sea once was part of a connected earth mass known as Sundaland. During the last glacial period, approximately 140,000 years agoThe fall of sea level transformed what are now individual islands (Java, Sumatra, Borneo and Bali) into mountainous tables surrounded by an extensive savanna of lowlands.
This exposed land, rich in rivers and meadows, allowed the first humans and animals to move through Southeast Asia. Archaeologist Harold Berghuis of the University of Leiden, who directed the study, emphasizes that Homo erect He probably lived near “large perennial rivers, providing drinking water and land and aquatic food sources,” according to research published in Quaternary and human environments. These old shores of the river would have supported a lot of wildlife, including crocodiles, river sharks, elephants, rhinoceros and even komodo dragons.
How ancient humans hunted like never before
The ecological diversity of the site also gave Homo erect Access to various food sources. The researchers found bones of River turtles and ancestral bovines with clear brands and breakage patterns, strong indicators of Extraction of meat and bone marrow. Such practices imply that Homo erect He used sophisticated hunting and butcher shops, perhaps similar to the views later in Denisovans and Neanderthals In the Asian continent.
This fossil evidence adds weight to the hypothesis that knowledge and techniques may have transferred between hominine species– And it raises the possibility of Delivery. Even more convincing, the dredging site produced mussel shells With signs of deliberate use, insinuating that the first humans used them as tools. The shells recorded previously found in Java suggest an artistic or symbolic dimension to their behavior, considered among the oldest examples of hominine engravings.
Present Homo erectus: The surprising physical features that changed human history!
The newly analyzed continues to highlight how Homo erect It represented a turning point in human evolution. They exhibited a more modern body structure:larger bodies, longer legsand shorter arms—The more efficient locomotion and probably improve their hunting capabilities. His brain sizeAlready more than 50 percent larger than that of AustralopithecusIt indicates the increase in cognitive complexity.
According to Berghuis, the Era of average pleistoceneThe age of the site – marks a period of “great morphological diversity and mobility” among the first human populations. The unearthed Homo erect The remains in the seabed underline the adaptability and geographical scope of the species during a transformative era in prehistory. With sea levels finally going up and drowning the old land bridge.
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