New species of ancient humans discovered in the Philippines

New evidence has emerged attesting to the complexity of human evolution. A new branch of the hominin genealogy tree has been discovered at Callao Cave, on the largest island of the Philippines, Luzon. The archaeological team, led by Armand Mijares of the University of the Philippines at Diliman, discovered remains belonging to at least three extinct individuals named Homo luzonensis. The discovery was shared in the journal Nature on April 10, 2019.

H. luzonensis lived at least 50,000 to 67,000 years, according to National Geographic. Experts say this could be one of the most important discoveries of recent years because the new species does not fit perfectly with the currently accepted linear progression, ranging from primitive humans to advanced men.

Inside the first chamber of the Callao cave in Peñablanca, Cagayan. Photo by Ervin Malicdem CC BY-SA 4.0

The mix of modern and older features, particularly in tooth analysis, suggests a much greater diversity in archaic humans that once coexisted in Asia. According to National Geographic, "H. luzonensis returns the script and continues to challenge the outdated idea that the human lineage has clearly advanced from less advanced species to more advanced species. "

H. luzonensis is the third human species identified since 2004 that once lived in the islands of Southeast Asia. Mijares told National Geographic that during his first visit to Callao Cave in 2003, excavations had been undertaken at a depth of only four feet. At the time, archaeologists did not think they could find evidence of human activity in deeper, therefore older layers. Subsequent exploration, however, proved the opposite.

New human species found in the Philippines https://t.co/PleGStpQFK

– BBC Science News (@BBCScienceNews) April 10, 2019

The first humans should have crossed a vast expanse of sea to reach the island of Luzon. It was believed that more ancient hominins would have lacked skills to navigate such treacherous currents – a hypothesis that was re-thought after the discovery of Homo floresiensis on the Indonesian island of Flores.

Returning to the cave of Callao in 2007, Mijares resumed his research by examining this time the deeper layers of the floor of the cave. And there, among a clutter of animal bones more than five feet deep, a very human foot bone was found. More evidence kept coming until 2015.

"We performed the comparisons and analyzes, and this confirmed that it was a special thing, unlike all the species of hominids previously described in the homo. kind, "said Florent Detroit, co-author of the study and paleoanthropologist at the Musée de l 'Homme in France. , told AFP.

Fossil skulls of Homo erectus, Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo antecessor

In addition, according to the study, H. luzonensis did not live in trees, although it is likely to be skilled climbers. Among the characteristics of this species are the curved toes, which allowed scientists to link H. luzonensis to Australopithecus, nicknamed "the species Lucy", a group of ancient creatures resembling monkeys that have roamed the African continent from 4.2 to 1.2 million years ago.

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The idea that close Australopithecan relatives traveled to remote areas of Southeast Asia again shifted our assumptions to the hypothesis of "l '. Africa out of sight. Traditionally, it is considered that a branch of Homo erectus left Africa at the earliest, about 1.9 million years ago, to spread around the world.

Denisovan molar discovered in the cave of Denisova. Picture of Thilo Parg CC BY-SA 4.0

In addition to H. luzonensis, the islands of South-East Africa are home to a few other species of distant human relatives, notably the Denisovans, whose first traces date back to Siberia. H. floresiensis disappeared about 50,000 years ago. Some experts say that their existence overlaps slightly with that of modern man. Scientists have also associated some of their characteristics with Australopithecus, although some believe that H. floresiensis is more closely related to Homo erectus.

Reconstruction of female Homo floresiensis. Picture of Cicero Moraes et al CC BY 4.0

"After the publication of the remarkable findings of the small homo floresiensis in 2004, I said that the experience of human evolution in Flores could have been repeated on many other islands in the region," said Professor Chris Stringer from Natural History. Museum in London, reports the BBC.

"This speculation has apparently been confirmed on the island of Luzon … nearly 3,000 km [1865 miles] far, he says. Curiously, evolution has led H. luzonensis and H. floresiensis to share quite similar attributes, such as their small size. However, it is not clear which environmental factors played a key role in the distribution of the differences between the two.

Beyond this, many research studies have so far stated that inter-species unions are possible. What we do not know about this question is whether H. luzonensis met and mingled with other hominins present at the time on the Asian continent. For example, if there was a contact between them and the Denisovans?

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Scientists would like to have more bones to draw deeper conclusions, but as we are going to miss the details a little longer, force is to note that Southeast Asia has been a place a lot more exciting for human evolution and probably the country of even more species may be waiting for their discovery in an isolated cave of another nearby island.