• Experts have analysed two teeth found in a cave in Indonesia in the 19th Century
• Our ancestors were on the islands between 73,000 and 63,000 years ago
• This date ties in with new theories about human settlement in Australia
• It also represents the first time humans were known to inhabit rainforests
Daily Mail Australia,10 August 2017,
The story of how humanity arrived in southeast Asia may have to be rewritten thanks to the discovery of ancient teeth.
Experts have analysed two hominid teeth, found in a cave in Indonesia in the 19th Century.
Their study claims our ancient ancestors were on the islands between 73,000 and 63,000 years ago.
This is potentially 13,000 years earlier than previously thought and ties in with new theories about human settlement in Australia.
It also represents the first time humans were known to inhabit rainforests, according to its authors.
A team of experts, including Dr Kira Westway of Macquarie University in Sydney, conducted the research.
Previous genetic studies have suggested that modern humans were living in southeast Asia more than 60,000 years ago.
Physical fossil evidence has been hard to come by but the two teeth found in Lida Ajer, a Pleistocene ice age era cave, offer a unique window into our ancient past.
Scientists used scanning techniques to establish the age of the fossils, an upper central incisor and second molar.
They also used different methods to date the sediment in which they were found.
They conclude that the teeth are undoubtedly human, rather than belonging to an earlier species of hominid or another animal species.
Writing in the study, the authors said: 'We show that the teeth are unequivocally anatomically modern humans .
'Lida Ajer represents, to our knowledge, the earliest evidence of rainforest occupation by AMH.
'And [it] underscores the importance of reassessing the timing and environmental context of the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa.'
Lida Ajer is in the Padang Highlands of Sumatra, which has a rich rainforest environment.
Scientists have previously argued the preferred route of modern humans migrating out of Africa had been along the coast.
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wo 9 aug 2017 - 23:03