A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos
Demeter, F.; Zanolli, C.; Westaway, K. E.; Joannes-Boyau, R.; Duringer, P.; Morley, M. W.; Welker, F.; Ruther, P. L.; Skinner, M. M.; McColl, H.; Gaunitz, C.; Vinner, L.; Dunn, T. E.; Olsen, J. V.; Sikora, M.; Ponche, J. L.; Suzzoni, E.; Frangeul, S.; Boesch, Q.; Antoine, P. O.; Pan, L.; Xing, S.; Zhao, J. X.; Bailey, R. M.; Boualaphane, S.; Sichanthongtip, P.; Sihanam, D.; Patole-Edoumba, E.; Aubaile, F.; /Crozier, Françoise; Bourgon, N.; Zachwieja, A.; Luangkhoth, T.; Souksavatdy, V.; Sayavongkhamdy, T.; Cappellini, E.; Bacon, A. M.; Hublin, J. J.; Willerslev, E.; Shackelford, L.
Descripción:
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.
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