Callao Cave
Homo Luzonensis
I has been a great week for science, yesterday we got introduced by the first photo of a black hole and today we got a new human species discovered: the Homo Luzonensis.
The name Luzonensis it's known as the result of its discovery on the island Luzon in Philippines. Its physical features are a mixture of those found in very ancient human ancestors and in more recent people, it was determined to be more than 50,000 years old.
In a study released on Wednesday by the journal Nature (link below), scientists describe the cache of seven teeth and six bones from the feet, hands and thigh of at least three members of the species. This could mean that African relatives left Africa and made it into South East Asia something not previously thought possible. Homo Luzonensis has some physical similarities to recent humans, but in other features hark back to the australopithecines, upright-walking ape-like creatures that lived in Africa between two and four million years ago, as well as very early members of the genus Homo.
The finger and toe bones are curved, suggesting climbing was still an important activity for this species. This also seems to have been the case for some australopithecines. In addition to Homo Luzonensis, island South-East Asia also appears to have been home to another human species called the Denisovans, who appear to have interbred with early modern humans (Homo sapiens) when they arrived in the region. This evidence comes from analysis of DNA, as no known Denisovan fossils have been found in the region. All the new fossils are tiny, suggesting this is another dwarf species like Homo Floresiensis, more commonly known as the "hobbit", that was discovered on and Indonesian Island back in 2004. The researchers have named this species Homo Luzonensis.
https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZqefTbWMY5TPF3Es5LKcRYid9KBNS6JuEEHZLberEzL6/FWDUMYT645GYNKBD2E7DHG6BA4.jpg
Seven hominin teeth, including molars and premolars, were found in Callao Cave
Audiovisual information:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=1&v=MGN2DvDYWgc
The discover was published in Nature and Callao Cave Archaeology Project.