The discovery of human fossils in Tam Pa Ling Cave in northern Laos has provided invaluable information about the history of our species. These ancient remains, which are between 68,000 and 86,000 years old, have been identified as Homo sapiens.
The first finds of a human skull and jawbone at Pa Ling in 2009 determined the potential value of the site. IFLScience writes that the skull has clear signs of Homo sapiens, indicating the presence of modern humans in the area thousands of years ago.
Interestingly, Tam Pa Ling Cave, located 300 kilometers inland and 1,000 meters above sea level, raises intriguing questions as it is believed that the first migrants followed coastal routes.
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Subsequent excavations at Tam Pa Ling have brought back more ancient finds from the deeper layers of the cave. A recent scientific paper describes the discovery of a tibia from the deepest layer and the use of various dating methods to establish the chronology of the cave.
University of Copenhagen Dr. Fabrice Demeter highlighted Tam Pa Ling’s important role in the story of modern human migration in Asia, noting the growing recognition of its importance and value.
Dr Kira Westway of Macquarie University described Tam Pa Ling as an unusual site that probably did not serve as a residence, but rather as a natural conduit for various artifacts and relics from the surrounding land. While the scarcity of tools and animal remains was astonishing, the cave revealed an unusually large number of human bones compared to most archaeological sites. Extensive searches for foci or signs of human presence in the vicinity have yet to yield any results.
Some paleoanthropologists initially dismissed Tam Pa Ling’s scientific value, arguing that all deposits in the cave were formed by a massive flood, rendering the stratigraphic layers useless for dating purposes. Moreover, Lao officials considered the fossils too valuable to be carbon-dated.
However, Westway and his co-authors have successfully demonstrated a gradual accumulation of sedimentary layers at Pa Ling. By aging each layer separately, the research team was able to determine the age of the fossils it contained.
The presence of animal bones that could be dated served as confirmation for certain layers. Additional dating methods, such as stalactite top analysis and luminescence dating, further supported the work by making it possible to determine how long the materials were shielded from underground radiation.
Thus, it was determined that humans lived in Laos about 77,000 years ago, with an error of plus or minus 9,000 years, suggesting a wide and long residence in this region. These humans, belonging to our species, had a slightly smaller physique by modern standards, and this is consistent with the pattern observed in forest-dwelling populations. It is believed that the area around Tam Pa Ling remained heavily forested during this long period.
Most likely, these early inhabitants were related to people living in Sumatra about 68,000 years ago, as well as toolmakers in Australia at the same time.
However, genetic studies of Indigenous Australians and Southeast Asians point to a recent divergence from African populations, coinciding with the separation of Europeans and Native Americans.
Westway suggested that early migrations may have stopped, suggesting that if any of these pioneers remained in the area after the arrival of subsequent migrations, their numbers were so small that their contribution to the genetic origin of modern inhabitants was less than 1 percent. .
Despite having established outposts over such a wide geographical area, the reasons for the decline or failure of these early settlers remain an intriguing mystery, exacerbated by this new discovery.
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Source: Focus
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