The exquisite treasure on Sulawesi Island has guided archaeologists to special remains, expected to provide direct evidence of the ancient marriages of our Homo sapiens ancestors with the “ghost species” Denisovans.
Today, Sulawesi Island is known for several tribes with a high degree of “non-pure” DNA: they are still Homo sapiens like us, but possess a portion of genes inherited from an extinct species also belonging to the genus Homo.
Excavation site at Leang Bulu Bettue cave – (Photo: PLOS ONE)
This mysterious ancestor is believed to be the Denisovans, a “ghost species” lurking in the genes of modern humans, remnants of interspecies marriages. However, archaeologists have never found a specific Denisovan skeleton or skull anywhere on Earth.
According to Ancient Origins, a 2020 excavation on Sulawesi Island uncovered two significant treasures: intricately carved relief fragments dating back up to 20,000 years.
Sulawesi treasure – intricately carved relief fragment – (Photo: PLOS ONE)
Following the discovery of these two treasures, a team of archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia, led by Professor Adam Brumm from the Australian Centre for Human Evolution Research, announced that they had unearthed the oldest fossilized human remains: 25,000 years old.
These remains were identified as Homo sapiens, our ancestors, hidden in the Leang Bulu Bettue cave in Southwest Sulawesi, providing the first direct evidence that modern humans occupied Sulawesi at the end of the Pleistocene (the Late Quaternary period, before the end of the last Ice Age).
Excavated bone fragments – (Photo: PLOS ONE)
The remains primarily consist of jawbone fragments and are expected to help answer the question: was this the time when Homo sapiens arrived in the Wallacea region (an archipelago cluster – large islands belonging to modern-day Indonesia and Australia, containing many sites of ancient human habitation) and encountered the Denisovans?
The bone fragments are currently being analyzed, and scientists believe that they will provide direct evidence, or at least continue to lead towards direct evidence of clear Homo sapiens – Denisovan hybrids. Finding remains in this region is extremely challenging due to the type of soil, which causes human bones to decompose completely.
Preliminary research has just been published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.
