A 140,000-year-old mysterious human ancestor bone found in LOST land where no one can visit
THE bones of a long-extinct human ancestor have been dredged up from the seafloor, just off the coast of what is now known as Indonesia.
The discovery reveals a previously unknown Homo erectus population in
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During the last Ice Age, sea levels were much lower than they are today
Credit: Harold Berghuis
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There were areas of the Earth that were not only habitable but occupied by our ancient ancestors, before they were lost to the sea
Credit: Harold Berghuis
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A cache of bones was pulled from the seafloor as part of a construction project off the island of Java and another smaller island called Madura.
Researchers, who published four separate studies on their findings, say it is the first time fossils have been found in the submerged areas of the Indonesian archipelago.
During the last
Mountainous glaciers and vast, icy tundras stored water that eventually fed into the ocean over the course of several millennia.
READ MORE ON ARCHAEOLOGY
There were areas of the Earth that were not only habitable but occupied by our ancient ancestors, before they were lost to the sea.
These lost lands, called Sundaland, were once vast open plains with flowing rivers around 140,000 years ago.
The newly discovered Homo erectus bones were found among a bounty of more than 6,000 animal fossils.
Fossil remains have revealed the rivers of Sundaland would have been fertile hunting grounds for the Homo erectus.
Most read in Science
The rivers were teeming with fish, turtles, river sharks, hippos and other marine life, according to the new fossils.
Lost world of 'Britain's ATLANTIS' Doggerland revealed – as artefacts from sunken nation appear after 10,000 years
While land-walking giants such as elephants, the elephant-like Stegodon and water buffalo also populated the plains, according to the studies,
published in the journal
.
There was once a valley between Java and Madura, which is now a body of seawater called the Madura Strait.
Cut marks found on some of the fossils suggest our ancient ancestors once hunted turtles on the land beneath the Madura Strait - which is the earliest evidence of this, according to researchers.
Although larger game was also on the table.
These hominins were targeting cow-like bovids in their prime, according to researchers, which the Indonesian Homo erectus isn't known for.
The different hunting strategy is associated with more modern humans on the Asian mainland, suggesting the Homo erectus may have interacted with more modern humans.
"The Madura Strait hominins may have developed this hunting strategy independently," study lead author Harold Berghuis, a researcher studying Homo erectus at Leiden University in the Netherlands, told
"But the other possibility is that we are looking at a kind of cultural exchange."
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Sunrise at Mount Bromo in Java island, Indonesia
Credit: Getty - Contributor
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The Irish Sun
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Chilling execution of ‘washed up' Medieval woman revealed as experts say brutal punishment was a ‘warning to others'
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The Irish Sun
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Eerie Roswell crash memo holds key to cracking UFO mystery after ‘FOUR alien bodies found,' expert insists
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Walter Haut, the public information officer at the base. Decades later, his daughter, Julie Shuster, was adamant that his original 'flying disk' statement had been accurate. But he had to keep everything "secret." A similar view has been expressed by veteran researcher Kevin Randle, a prominent ufologist who is regarded as one of the top experts on the reported crash. Most read in The US Sun Former army officer admits he saw ' beat up ALIEN the size of a 10-year-old child' after world famous Roswell UFO crash Randle has written multiple books about UFOs and the He's adamant that he has 'eliminated all possible terrestrial explanations." 'What we can say with authority is that something fell at Roswell,' he said. 'We have eliminated all the terrestrial explanations." The expert, who served in the Air Force and National Guard, said the UFO case could be solved by delving into a historic memo. 6 The site of the Roswell crash Credit: Reuters 6 Expert Kevin Randle has spent years investigating the reported UFO crash Credit: Kevin Randle The eerie memo can be seen in a black and white photograph sent out on the news wires at the time. The grainy note appears to say the words 'victims of the crash.' The memo itself can be seen in the old pic being held by Brigadier General Roger Ramey, who at the time of the crash was commanding officer of the 8th Air Force in Roswell. Ramey is holding the piece of paper slightly turned away from the camera. But, fortunately, some words can now be read using technology. KEY MEMO 'The Ramey memo could be the key to this whole thing," Randle said. 'Ramey was holding the memo in his hand when he was photographed with the debris in his office. 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The Irish Sun
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Scientists ‘disprove' one of Jesus Christ's best-known miracles as study claims it was just ‘a natural phenomenon'
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