Homo erectus from the seabed, new archaeological discoveries in Indonesia

Summary

Archaeological finds off the coast of Java, Indonesia provide insight into the world of Homo erectus, 140,000 years ago. Skull fragments and other fossil remains provide a unique picture of how and where these early humans lived, says Leiden archaeologist Harold Berghuis. During dredging operations in the Madura Strait, archaeologists found the fossilised remains of 36 vertebrate species. This is the first discovery of fossils from the seabed between the Indonesian islands. This area, called Sundaland, was once a vast lowland. Among the finds are two skull fragments of Homo erectus. Together, the finds provide a unique image of a prehistoric ecosystem and the position of Homo erectus in this ecosystem. New insights Fossil remains of Homo erectus have previously been found on the island of Java, the most famous of which are skulls from sites such as Trinil, Sangiran and Ngandong. Until today, researchers thought that Homo erectus had lived for long in isolation on Java. The new finds show that the Javanese Homo erectus dispersed over the surrounding lowlands of Sundaland during periods with lower sea levels. The species probably spread along the major rivers. ‘Here they had water, shellfish, fish, edible plants, seeds and fruit all year round’, says Berghuis. ‘We already knew that Homo erectus collected river shells. Among our new finds are cut marks on the bones of water turtles and large numbers of broken bovid bones, which point to hunting and consumption of bone marrow.’ The area where the fossils were found ('sand extraction area') The new finds show that the Sundaland Homo erectus actively hunted healthy, strong bovids. ‘We didn’t find this in the earlier Homo erectus population on Java, but do know it from more modern human species of the Asian mainland. Homo erectus may have copied this practice from these populations. This suggests there may have been contact between these hominin groups, or even genetic exchange.’ A broader view of archaeological research T...