jstar
Mr. 10,000
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2016
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Scientists have discovered remains of a 140,000-year-old skull of a homo erectus off the coast of Indonesia. The special find is an indication of how the ancestors of modern man spread across the world and also lived in Sundaland, an area that is now below sea level.
Archaeologists found skull fragments and other fossil remains of a total of 36 vertebrate species (including prehistoric lizards, buffaloes, deer and elephants) during dredging in Madura Strait, between the Indonesian islands of Java and Madura. According to Leiden University, it is the first find of fossils on the seabed between the two islands. The area, now called Sundaland, was once a vast lowland that connected the present-day Indonesian islands and the Malaysian Peninsula, but has been swallowed up by rising sea levels.
Between 14,000 and 7,000 years ago, melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise more than 100 meters. As a result, the lowlands of Sundaland were flooded and people and animals had to flee inland or live on the higher islands.
Homo erectus, which lived from 2 million to 140,000 years ago, is the direct ancestor of modern man and is known for being the first human species to leave Africa for Eurasia. The recovered remains date back from 162,000 to 119,000 years ago.
And here it comes: The fossils were already discovered in 2011, but only recently experts were able to determine the age and species to which they belonged.
Archaeologists found skull fragments and other fossil remains of a total of 36 vertebrate species (including prehistoric lizards, buffaloes, deer and elephants) during dredging in Madura Strait, between the Indonesian islands of Java and Madura. According to Leiden University, it is the first find of fossils on the seabed between the two islands. The area, now called Sundaland, was once a vast lowland that connected the present-day Indonesian islands and the Malaysian Peninsula, but has been swallowed up by rising sea levels.
Between 14,000 and 7,000 years ago, melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise more than 100 meters. As a result, the lowlands of Sundaland were flooded and people and animals had to flee inland or live on the higher islands.
Homo erectus, which lived from 2 million to 140,000 years ago, is the direct ancestor of modern man and is known for being the first human species to leave Africa for Eurasia. The recovered remains date back from 162,000 to 119,000 years ago.
And here it comes: The fossils were already discovered in 2011, but only recently experts were able to determine the age and species to which they belonged.
and the glasses did not overflow when those melt!”
