Lately, findings in paleontology have made us have to rewrite our own history, more and more frequently.
The latest discovery of a new species of hominid has occurred in the Philippines, where a team of scientists has found remains of Homo luzonensis , as published in the journal Nature, on the island of Luzon, where it owes its name.
Although they were found in 2007, years of study have managed to conclude that they are the remains of a human species, until now, unknown. The fossils found are sixty-seven thousand years old , during the late Pleistocene, and represent the greatest milestone in the knowledge of the human species ever found in Southeast Asia.
A ‘short’ hominid
Researchers discovered the remains of at least two adults and one child within the same archaeological sites. Specifically, bones of the fingers of a young and old, teeth and also the femur of a minor.
Professor Philip Piper, from the Austrian National University, describes the characteristics of these bones as very particular; for example, we know that teeth are very small : “The size of the teeth usually reflects the body size of a mammal, so we think that Homo luzonensis was probably relatively small. Although, to determine its exact size, we would need to find some more skeletal elements, to measure the body with greater precision ”, he specifies.
In fact, as is also described in the work, Homo luzonensis shares some unique characteristics with the famous Homo floresiensis, nicknamed “the hobbit”, discovered precisely on the island of Flores, southeast of the Philippine archipelago.
As for the limbs, it seems, they are very similar to those of Australopithecus. Australopithecines last walked the earth in Africa about two million years ago and are considered the ancestors of the Homo group, which includes modern humans ( Homo sapiens ).
The question, therefore, is whether some of these features evolved as adaptations to island life, or whether they are anatomical features passed down to Homo luzonensis from their ancestors during the previous two million years.
Location of the Callao cave, in the Philippines./Nature.
But the remains found were not only human. Excavations around the Callao cave (the area where the discovery took place) suggest that the presence of a rhinoceros and also stone tools, dating back about seventy thousand years.
Although there are still many questions about the origins of Homo luzonensis and its longevity on the island of Luzon, recent excavations near the Callao cave yielded evidence of a sacrificed rhinoceros and stone tools dating back some seven hundred thousand years.
The archipelago of the Philippines could have facilitated speciation
However, the characteristics of the archipelago where the discovery has taken place can help us to make a small reconstruction: The Philippines is made up of a group of large islands that have been separated enough to have potentially facilitated the speciation of the archipelago. Scientists believe it is only a matter of time to find more variety of hominin species there.
Additionally, stone tools dating to around 20,000 years ago were found on the island of Sulawesi, suggesting that ancient hominins may have inhabited many of the large islands of Southeast Asia.
