New species of early human found in the Philippines

[Jim__]

From phys.org:

An international team of researchers have uncovered the remains of a new species of human in the Philippines, proving the region played a key role in hominin evolutionary history.

The new species, Homo luzonensis is named after Luzon Island, where the more than 50,000 year old fossils were found during excavations at Callao Cave.

Co-author and a lead member of the team, Professor Philip Piper from The Australian National University (ANU) says the findings represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of human evolution across Southeast Asia.

The researchers uncovered the remains of at least two adults and one juvenile within the same archaeological deposits.

more ...

[griloco]

1. How far from the skull was the MAGA hat..?

[progressoid]

2. Gosh darn that Satan!

He's at it again. Burying fake fossils to lure people to the false god of science and knowledge.

[UrbScotty]

3. Huh? Science and religion are *very* compatible.

[progressoid]

4. Sort of.

I was actually referencing creationists who believe that fossils are fake because it defies their belief that the earth is 6000 yrs old.

But on the less extreme spectrum of religious beliefs...the compatibility of science and religion seems to vary widely depending on the flavor of religion in question. And even the the individual believer. Religious dogma will often change based on new discoveries from science. Science, on the other hand, won't.

[muriel_volestrangler]

5. Not known if a descendant of Homo erectus, or an earlier hominin

Normally this anatomy would indicate a mixed lifestyle with an ability to walk on two legs and climb trees. One possibility is that this primitive trait reappeared once the species had become isolated on the island. “Maybe the way they were walking was distinct,” said Détroit. “This is something we plan to work on in the near future.”

It is not known whether the new species, along with the ‘hobbit’, represent earlier dispersals from Africa than Homo erectus, or whether they are descendants who later shrank and evolved new anatomical traits.

Another mystery is how they arrived at Luzon, a large island that has never been connected to the mainland by a land bridge. One possibility is that the early humans set out to sea intentionally on some form of raft; another is that they were washed there in relatively large numbers due to a natural event such as a tsunami.

“Arrival by accident … is favoured by many scholars, but this is mainly because of arguments like ‘Homo erectus were not clever enough to cross the sea on purpose’,” said Détroit. “But the fact is that we have now more and more evidence that they successfully settled on several islands in the remote past in south-east Asia, so it was probably not so accidental.”

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/10/new-species-of-ancient-human-homo-luzonensis-discovered-in-philippines-cave

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. New species of early human found in the Philippines

http://www.anu.edu.au/news/all-news/new-species-of-early-human-found-in-the-philippines

New species of early human found in the Philippines

11 April 2019

An international team of researchers have uncovered the remains of a new species of human in the Philippines, proving the region played a key role in hominin evolutionary history.

The new species, Homo luzonensis is named after Luzon Island, where the more than 50,000 year old fossils were found during excavations at Callao Cave.

Co-author and a lead member of the team, Professor Philip Piper from The Australian National University (ANU) says the findings represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of human evolution across Southeast Asia.

The researchers uncovered the remains of at least two adults and one juvenile within the same archaeological deposits.

…

http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1067-9

[Judi Lynn]

7. Great thread! Thanks for the information. n/t