45,000-Year-Old Remains Reveal Earliest Evidence of Homo Sapiens in East Asia

• KArtifacts and new analyzes found in the Shiyu region of northeastern China of the ruins Homo sapiens about 45,000 years agos He revealed that it was created by.
• Analysis of the artifacts has revealed a range of technological skills, such as the Levallois stone knapping technique, which was developed in Europe around 250,000 years ago.
• Most of the animal bones in the research area consisted of horses or horse bones. Most of them were adults, and many of the remains found showed cut marks indicating butchering, meaning the Shiyu people were engaged in hunting.

Ancient rock and bone fragments found in East Asia are changing our understanding of the history of human migration. Artifacts found in the Shiyu region of northeastern China and new analysis reveal that these ruins were created by Homo sapiens approximately 45,000 years ago. This is the earliest evidence of modern humans in East Asia, suggesting that Homo sapiens were already established in Shiyu by then and prompting new interpretations in evaluating cultural artefacts previously found in the region.

Archaeologist Francesco D’Errico from the University of Bordeaux in the statement “This area reflects the process of cultural creolization contact between societies and displaced peoples and complicates traditional understanding of the global spread of Homo sapiens by blending hereditary traits with new innovations.” says. Shiyu has been known as a place of archaeological importance for decades. The region has been used as a residential area for a long time. The sedimentary sequence is 30 meters deep and the layers within it have accumulated over tens of thousands of years. Archaeologists have found rich artifacts buried in sediment that were made and used by the people who lived there. tools and works They found it.

Determining who these people were and how long they lived there has been the subject of an ongoing project. Thousands of objects were found during the first excavations in this area in 1963. Among these objects; 15,000 stone artifacts, thousands of bone and tooth fragments, a single hominid fossil and a skull fragment identified as belonging to Homo sapiens were found. However, most of the collection, including the skull fragment, was later lost. Scientists carried out another excavation in this area in 2013. Now an international multidisciplinary team led by paleoanthropologist Shi-Xia Yang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is working to describe the excavation site in detail. The team examined animal bones found at the site by selecting numerous samples from existing artefacts and analyzing them closely. They also performed new dating analysis using radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence techniques to accurately date samples taken from different parts of the found sediment sequence.

Dating reveals that the oldest layer of the sediment sequence was deposited approximately 45,000 years ago. Analysis of the artifacts has revealed a range of technological skills, such as the Levallois stone knapping technique, which was developed in Europe around 250,000 years ago. In addition, there is evidence of impact fractures and toothed and stemmed bullet points, indicating that the community had hunting skills. contains. Obsidian was also found that may have been obtained from a distance of at least 800 to 1,000 kilometers, indicating that people went somewhere for trade or travel purposes.

Other interesting items include a graphite disc with a hole in the center, a worked bone tool whose purpose remains unclear (researchers think the latter may have been a large button of some kind). Most of the animal bones found in the area consisted of horse bones and mostly belonged to adult horses. Many of the bones have cut marks that indicate butchering, meaning that the Shiyu people may have been hunters who made a living by hunting horses. These findings in the study paint a complex and inspiring picture. “The combination of different cultural traits suggests that a complex and innovative adaptation process occurred during the expansion of our ancestors,” Yang said. says.

Researchers say this discovery, along with the still-missing skull fragment, represents an important piece of human history. “Understanding the complexity of our ancient past can offer invaluable insights into the different paths taken by our ancestors and the richness of human adaptation,” said Michael Petraglia, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia. “This discovery at Shiyu reveals a fascinating story of early human migration and cultural fusion, expanding our knowledge of our ancient origins and the remarkable adaptability of Homo sapiens.” says.

Research Nature Ecology & Evolution It was published in the magazine.

Compiled by: Burçin Bağatur