Jawbone found in Indonesian cave represents oldest human remains found in Wallacea

In a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, an international team of researchers have unearthed a jawbone that represents the oldest human remains ever found on Wallacea. The group published an article describing their discovery on the open access site PLoS A.

In recent decades, archaeologists have found evidence of ancient people living on Wallacea, a group of Indonesian islands relatively close to Australia. In a cave called Leang Bulu Bettue, they found tools, trinkets, and rock art, but few human remains. In this new effort, the researchers found a jawbone with three molars attached. The dating of the ornaments, pigments and wearable art surrounding the find suggests that the remains were from a modern human living in the area between 16,000 and 25,000 years ago, during the Ice Age. The discovery could shed light on the people who lived in the area during this time – scientists believe they were the ancestors of people who arrived by boat thousands of years ago, and the ancestors of the first modern people to arrive in Australia .

The study of the jaw showed that the person, whose sex is still unknown, suffered from a multitude of oral diseases. The molars were crushed, suggesting that the person had used them as a tool for a specific purpose. And there was evidence of tooth loss, gum disease, and cavities. This suggests that the person’s diet was high in carbohydrates. Additionally, the person was likely older and had small teeth, suggesting that like other early island human species, those who lived in Sulawesi were likely small compared to those who lived in Europe.

The jaw dates from the end of the Pleistocene, during the Ice Age. This means that the level of the oceans surrounding the island would have been lower, but not low enough to create a land bridge between the islands or to Australia. Researchers plan to continue looking for further evidence of the individual who left him behind.

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