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A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos

Demeter Fabrice, Zanolli Clément, Westaway Kira E, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Duringer Philippe, Morley Mike W, Welker Frido, Rüther Patrick L, Skinner Matthew M, McColl Hugh, …
Nature Communications, Vol.13(1), pp.1-17
17/05/2022
PMCID: PMC9114389
PMID: 35581187
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Abstract

Bayesian analysis Breccia Dating Dental enamel Females Hominids Limestone Morphology Mountains Pleistocene Teeth
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.

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