1. A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos
- Author
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Fabrice Demeter, Clément Zanolli, Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Philippe Duringer, Mike W. Morley, Frido Welker, Patrick L. Rüther, Matthew M. Skinner, Hugh McColl, Charleen Gaunitz, Lasse Vinner, Tyler E. Dunn, Jesper V. Olsen, Martin Sikora, Jean-Luc Ponche, Eric Suzzoni, Sébastien Frangeul, Quentin Boesch, Pierre-Olivier Antoine, Lei Pan, Song Xing, Jian-Xin Zhao, Richard M. Bailey, Souliphane Boualaphane, Phonephanh Sichanthongtip, Daovee Sihanam, Elise Patole-Edoumba, Françoise Aubaile, Françoise Crozier, Nicolas Bourgon, Alexandra Zachwieja, Thonglith Luangkhoth, Viengkeo Souksavatdy, Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, Enrico Cappellini, Anne-Marie Bacon, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Eske Willerslev, Laura Shackelford, Demeter, Fabrice [0000-0002-1288-5534], Zanolli, Clément [0000-0002-5617-1613], Westaway, Kira E [0000-0001-5315-778X], Joannes-Boyau, Renaud [0000-0002-0452-486X], Rüther, Patrick L [0000-0003-4461-9828], Skinner, Matthew M [0000-0001-8321-3543], McColl, Hugh [0000-0002-7568-4270], Olsen, Jesper V [0000-0002-4747-4938], Zhao, Jian-Xin [0000-0002-2413-6178], Bailey, Richard M [0000-0002-4566-843X], Bourgon, Nicolas [0000-0001-8538-1903], Cappellini, Enrico [0000-0001-7885-7811], Hublin, Jean-Jacques [0000-0001-6283-8114], Shackelford, Laura [0000-0002-0934-2360], Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie (PACEA), Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut de physique du globe de Strasbourg (IPGS), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Louis Pasteur - Strasbourg I-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université de Strasbourg (UNISTRA), Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution de Montpellier (UMR ISEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Université Paris sciences et lettres (PSL)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR226-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM), Université Paris Cité (UPCité), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Collège de France - Chaire internationale Paléoanthropologie, Collège de France (CdF (institution)), Collège de France - Chaire Paléoanthropologie, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology [Leipzig], and Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Subjects
Multidisciplinary ,Fossils ,82/58 ,article ,General Physics and Astronomy ,Bayes Theorem ,Hominidae ,General Chemistry ,631/181/19/2471 ,Molar ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,631/181/27 ,Hominidae/anatomy & histology ,stomatognathic system ,[SDU]Sciences of the Universe [physics] ,Laos ,59/78 ,631/337/475 ,Animals ,Humans ,631/181/414 ,Female - Abstract
The Pleistocene presence of the genus Homo in continental Southeast Asia is primarily evidenced by a sparse stone tool record and rare human remains. Here we report a Middle Pleistocene hominin specimen from Laos, with the discovery of a molar from the Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) limestone cave in the Annamite Mountains. The age of the fossil-bearing breccia ranges between 164–131 kyr, based on the Bayesian modelling of luminescence dating of the sedimentary matrix from which it was recovered, U-series dating of an overlying flowstone, and U-series–ESR dating of associated faunal teeth. Analyses of the internal structure of the molar in tandem with palaeoproteomic analyses of the enamel indicate that the tooth derives from a young, likely female, Homo individual. The close morphological affinities with the Xiahe specimen from China indicate that they belong to the same taxon and that Tam Ngu Hao 2 most likely represents a Denisovan.
- Published
- 2022
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