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Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY V4.0, Open
Journal article
A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos
Nature Communications, Vol.13(1), pp.1-17
17/05/2022
PMCID: PMC9114389
PMID: 35581187
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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. Evidence for the presence of Homo during the Middle Pleistocene is limited in continental Southeast Asia. Here, the authors report a hominin molar from Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave), dated to 164–131 kyr. They use morphological and paleoproteomic analysis to show that it likely belonged to a female Denisovan.
Details
- Title
- A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos
- Creators
- Demeter Fabrice - University of CopenhagenZanolli Clément - University of BordeauxWestaway Kira E - Macquarie UniversityRenaud Joannes-Boyau - Southern Cross UniversityDuringer Philippe - Université de StrasbourgMorley Mike W - Flinders UniversityWelker Frido - University of CopenhagenRüther Patrick L - University of CopenhagenSkinner Matthew M - University of KentMcColl Hugh - University of CopenhagenGaunitz Charleen - University of CopenhagenVinner Lasse - University of CopenhagenDunn Tyler E - Creighton UniversityOlsen Jesper V - University of CopenhagenSikora Martin - University of CopenhagenPonche Jean-Luc - Université de StrasbourgSuzzoni Eric - Spitteurs PanFrangeul Sébastien - Spitteurs PanBoesch Quentin - Université de StrasbourgAntoine Pierre-Olivier - Université de MontpellierPan Lei - Chinese Academy of SciencesXing Song - Chinese Academy of SciencesZhao Jian-Xin - University of QueenslandBailey Richard M - University of OxfordBoualaphane Souliphane - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismSichanthongtip Phonephanh - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismSihanam Daovee - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismPatole-Edoumba Elise - Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de La RochelleAubaile Françoise - Muséum National d’Histoire NaturelleCrozier Françoise - Institut de Recherche pour le DéveloppementBourgon Nicolas - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyZachwieja Alexandra - University of Minnesota, DuluthLuangkhoth Thonglith - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismSouksavatdy Viengkeo - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismSayavongkhamdy Thongsa - Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Ministry of Information, Culture and TourismCappellini Enrico - University of CopenhagenBacon Anne-Marie - Université Paris CitéHublin Jean-Jacques - Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyWillerslev Eske - University of CopenhagenShackelford Laura - University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
- Publication Details
- Nature Communications, Vol.13(1), pp.1-17
- Comment
- The team dedicates this work to Mr Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy. We thank the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism of Lao PDR for encouraging and supporting our work, marking almost 20 years of collaboration. We thank the authorities of Xon district, Hua Pan Province and the villagers of Long Gua Pa village for their continuous support of our numerous years of fieldwork. We also thank many curators and colleagues who granted access to the comparative fossil and recent hominin specimens for scanning, as well as the online sharing platforms of the Nespos society (http://www.nespos.org) and ESRF Paleontological database (http://paleo.esrf.eu). We acknowledge A. Mazurier and R. Macchiarelli (University of Poitiers), A. Bravin, C. Nemoz and P. Tafforeau (ESRF Synchrotron), P. Bayle and F. Santos (University of Bordeaux), O. Kullmer and F. Schrenk (Senckenberg Museum), F. Bernardini and C. Tuniz (ICTP Trieste), J. Braga and J. Dumoncel (University of Toulouse) for analytical support, microtomographic scanning and sharing of material. We gratefully acknowledge support from the CNRS/IN2P3 Computing Center (Lyon - France) for providing computing and data-processing resources needed for this work. Our thanks also go to Christine Lefèvre, Joséphine Lesur and Aurélie Verguin (Laboratoire Mammifères et Oiseaux, Anatomie comparée, MNHN, Paris) for access to comparative mammalian collections. Warm thanks to Jeremy Kazan (Taxidermie, MNHN, Paris) for having, as usual, wonderfully casted and reproduced the specimen. M.W.M. thanks George Morgan and Mark Keene at Adelaide Petrographics for expertly making the micromorphology thin sections. This research has been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship award (FT180100309) (M.W.M.), the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant (DP170101597) (K.E.W.), and the Australian Research Council (ARC) LEF Grant (LE200100022) (R.J-B.), the Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship (no. 795569) (F.W.). Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) TEMPERA, a project funded by the European Union’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (no. 722606) (E.C., J.V.O., P.R.), the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (no. 948365) (F.W.), the VILLUM FONDEN (no. 17649) (E.C.). European Union’s Framework Pro gram for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (no. 819960) (M.M.S.), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant number NNF14CC0001) (P.L.R.), the National Geographic Society (NGS-399R-18) (L.S.), the MNHN/Université Paris Diderot/Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (F.D.), the CNRS/Université de Paris, France; Université de Strasbourg, France (A.M.B.). Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany (A.M.B.) and the Sodipram company (La Compagnie du Lit), France (F.D.).
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Grant note
- This research has been funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellowship award (FT180100309) (M.W.M.), the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery grant (DP170101597) (K.E.W.), and the Australian Research Council (ARC) LEF Grant (LE200100022) (R.J-B.), the Marie Skłodowska Curie Individual Fellowship (no. 795569) (F.W.). Marie Skłodowska-Curie European Training Network (ETN) TEMPERA, a project funded by the European Union’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (no. 722606) (E.C., J.V.O., P.R.), the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (no. 948365) (F.W.), the VILLUM FONDEN (no. 17649) (E.C.). European Union’s Framework Program for Research and Innovation Horizon 2020 (no. 819960) (M.M.S.), the Novo Nordisk Foundation (grant number NNF14CC0001) (P.L.R.), the National Geographic Society (NGS-399R-18) (L.S.), the MNHN/Université Paris Diderot/Sorbonne Paris Cité, France (F.D.), the CNRS/Université de Paris, France; Université de Strasbourg, France (A.M.B.). Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany (A.M.B.) and the Sodipram company (La Compagnie du Lit), France (F.D.).
- Identifiers
- 991013023134402368
- Copyright
- © The Author(s) 2022. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article