Latest news with #QuaternaryEnvironmentsandHuman
NDTV
27-05-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Lost Civilisation Underwater? 140,000-Year-Old Homo Erectus Skull May Hold The Key To Secret
Scientists may have stumbled upon a hidden civilisation at the bottom of the ocean after they discovered the skull of Homo erectus, an ancient human ancestor. The skull was preserved beneath layers of silt and sand in the Madura Strait, between the islands of Java and Madura, in Indonesia, with researchers claiming that it was buried 140,000 years ago. The Homo erectus fossil was discovered in 2011 due to a large construction project in the Madura Strait. However, it wasn't until this month that scientists published the findings in the journal Quaternary Environments and Human. "This period is characterised by great morphological diversity and mobility of hominin populations in the region," said study lead author Harold Berghuis. The site could be the first physical evidence of the lost landmass known as Sundaland, which once connected Southeast Asia in a vast tropical plain. Apart from the skull, researchers also found 6,000 animal fossils of 36 species, including those of Komodo dragons, buffalo, deer, and elephant. Some of these animals had deliberate cut marks, suggesting that early humans may have practised hunting strategies on the land that is now underwater. "The Madura Strait hominins may have developed this hunting strategy independently. But the other possibility is that we are looking at a kind of cultural exchange," Mr Berghuis told LiveScience. Who were Homo erectus? The human family tree is complicated, but scientists are of the view that Homo erectus were the first early humans to resemble modern humans more closely. They were taller, had muscular bodies, longer legs and shorter arms. The study and its findings perhaps offer the first direct proof of the presence of Home erectus in the now-submerged Sundaland landscapes -- challenging earlier beliefs about the geographic limits of human's early ancestors. Notably, it was 14,000 and 7,000 years ago that melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise more than 120 meters, submerging the low-lying plains of Sundaland.
Metro
26-05-2025
- Science
- Metro
Mystery of ancient land could have been solved by 140,000-year-old human skull
A prehistoric human skull and fossils found in the sea could reveal the secrets of an ancient lost land teeming with venomous Komodo dragons. The fragments of Homo erectus 's skull were discovered buried in a since-disappeared land in Indonesia. The bone pieces were found by accident among thousands of animal fossils when tonnes of sand and stones were dredged up off the seafloor of the Madura Strait between Java and Madura island. Marks found on the fossils suggest that the Homo erectus might have used a hunting strategy copied from its more modern human relatives, signalling a further overlap and interaction between the two human species. The Homo erectus skull was buried 140,000 years ago, and it could be the first evidence of the prehistoric landmass known as Sundaland, Live Science reports. The bombshell discovery, published last week in the Quaternary Environments and Human journal, reveals how a previously unknown Homo erectus population may have interacted with more humans across the strip of land, which connected the islands. The fossil markings suggest that the Homo erectus in the area were targeting a prehistoric, cow-like animal in a way the species isn't usually known for, suggesting the strategy was copied from humans on the Asia mainland. The findings suggest that early humans lived side-by-side with the Komodo dragons, which have a poisonous bite and are capable of killing large mammals. Harold Berghuis, the lead author of the study at the University of Leiden, Netherlands, told Live Science: 'The Madura Strait hominins may have developed this hunting strategy independently. 'But the other possibility is that we are looking at a kind of cultural exchange.' After sifting through the debris, the researchers found more than 6,000 animal fossils – the first time fossils have been found from the submerged Sundaland. The area used to look very different when human ancestors walked and hunted in the area during the last Ice Age. Sundaland was the home to elephants, the elephant-like extinct Stegodon and water buffalo, while its rivers were teeming with fish, turtles, river sharks and hippos, the fossils show. The researchers identified 36 different species among the over 6,000 fossils, including Komodo dragons, which could have been 'the most important predators' in Sundaland, Berghuis said. But the pre-historic human remains could have been lost forever when a massive construction project started in the strait to create an artificial island. Diggers pulled up around 177 million cubic feet of sand and sandstones near Surabaya between 2014 and 2015, which was then used the create the island. Berghuis then spent weeks on his hands and knees searching for any human-linked fossils. He finally hit the jackpot on his last day at the site. He said: 'It was already getting dark and I sat down to enjoy [the] sunset. More Trending 'And then, right beside me, lay this fossil that reminded me so much of the only Dutch Neanderthal. This is a well-known fossil in my country, dredged from the North Sea.' The human predecessor was the first to develop a humanlike body and leave the African continent for Asia and Europe during its 2 million-year existence. As its name suggests, Homo erectus walked upright, although the teeth were larger and the brain smaller than in modern humans. Homo erectus is thought to be the first human species to have used fire around 1 million years ago. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
Scottish Sun
22-05-2025
- Science
- Scottish Sun
A 140,000-year-old mysterious human ancestor bone found in LOST land where no one can visit
Lost lands, called Sundaland, were once vast open plains with flowing rivers around 140,000 years ago BARE BONES A 140,000-year-old mysterious human ancestor bone found in LOST land where no one can visit Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) 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 Southeast Asia who occupied land before it became an ocean. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 4 During the last Ice Age, sea levels were much lower than they are today Credit: Harold Berghuis 4 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 4 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 Ice Age, sea levels were much lower than they are today. Mountainous glaciers and vast, icy tundras stored water that eventually fed into the ocean over the course of several millennia. 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. 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 Quaternary Environments and Human. 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 Live Science. "But the other possibility is that we are looking at a kind of cultural exchange."
