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ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Philippine archeologist Armand Salvador Mijares showed a femur bone, one of those recovered from the Callao cave belonging to a new species called Homo luzonensis, at a press conference in the metropolis of Manila, today. 39; hui. Bones and fossil teeth discovered in the province of Cagayan, in the northern Philippines, revealed a long-lost cousin of the modern peoples, who was obviously living at the time when our own species was expanding into Africa to occupy the rest of the world.
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MANILA >> Archaeologists who discovered fossil bones and teeth of an unknown human species that had flourished more than 50,000 years ago in the northern Philippines announced that they were planning more excavations and called for better protection of the calcareous cave complex, where the remains were discovered.
The Philippine archeologist Armand Salvador Mijares said that the discovery of remains in Callao Cave in Cagayan Province has made the Philippines an important research ground on human evolution. The new species is called Homo luzonensis, after the main island of northern Luzon, where the remains were discovered in 2007.
Radiant with pride, Mijares introduced the six bone fragments of the feet, hands and thigh as well as the seven teeth of three individuals from that bygone era at a press conference at the same time. University of the Philippines, led by the state. The tests showed that two of the fossil fragments had minimum ages of 50,000 years and 67,000 years, according to a study published by the scientific journal Nature.
"This puts the Philippines, our scientific community in the spotlight," said Mijares. "Before, we are only peripherals in this debate about human evolution."
Mijares, who led a small team of foreign and local archaeologists at the origin of this rare find, said he planned to resume excavation work next year and that He hoped to find larger fossil bones, artifacts and perhaps stone tools used at the time. Aside from the Callao cave, human fossils have recently been discovered at another site in Bulacan province, just north of the capital, Manila, Mijares said without further details.
Another veteran Filipino archaeologist, Eusebio Dizon, said that Callao's human remains were the oldest found in the Philippines, prior to those found in the Tabon Cave of the western island of Palawan for thousands of years .
While archaeological discoveries might attract more scientists, Dizon also feared attracting vandals and treasure hunters likely to threaten the seven-chamber cave complex, which is a popular tourist destination. An open-air chapel with benches and an altar in the cave complex has become a popular venue for weddings and filmmakers.
"Penablanca has been a treasure hunt for many people," said Dizon, referring to the city of Cagayan province, where the Callao caves are located. "Maybe that will revive their kind of activities, which is why he needs protection now more than ever."
The main exodus of the species proper to the modern man of Africa, from which all the non-African peoples of today descend, took place about 60,000 years ago.
The analysis of the bones of Callao caves led the authors of the study to conclude that they belonged to a member of our branch "Homo" hitherto unknown tree. The researchers explained that one of the toe bones and the general configuration of tooth shapes and sizes differed from those of the Homo family.
Bones and fossil teeth found about 3 meters underground in the cave show that they belonged to small people. Deer bones and related animals were found in the area, some with cut marks, suggesting that they had been slaughtered, although no stone tools or sharp tools were found. was found in the immediate area where human fossils were exhumed, said Mijares.
While the discovery sheds new light on the early beginnings of modern man, Dizon added that it raises new questions and deepens the mystery of man's evolution.
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