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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
Rare Late Pleistocene-early Holocene human mandibles from the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Borneo)
PloS one, Vol.13(6), e0196633
06/06/2018
PMCID: PMC5991356
PMID: 29874227
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Source: InCites
Abstract
The skeletal remains of Late Pleistocene-early Holocene humans are exceptionally rare in island Southeast Asia. As a result, the identity and physical adaptations of the early inhabitants of the region are poorly known. One archaeological locality that has historically been important for understanding the peopling of island Southeast Asia is the Niah Caves in the northeast of Borneo. Here we present the results of direct Uranium-series dating and the first published descriptions of three partial human mandibles from the West Mouth of the Niah Caves recovered during excavations by the Harrissons in 1957. One of them (mandible E/B1 100") is somewhat younger than the 'Deep Skull' with a best dating estimate of c30-28 ka (at 2 sigma), while the other two mandibles (D/N5 42-48" and E/W 33 24-36") are dated to a minimum of c11.0-10.5 ka (at 2 sigma) and c10.0-9.0 ka (at 2 sigma). Jaw E/B1 100" is unusually small and robust compared with other Late Pleistocene mandibles suggesting that it may have been ontogenetically altered through masticatory strain under a model of phenotypic plasticity. Possible dietary causes could include the consumption of tough or dried meats or palm plants, behaviours which have been documented previously in the archaeological record of the Niah Caves. Our work suggests a long history back to before the LGM of economic strategies involving the exploitation of raw plant foods or perhaps dried and stored meat resources. This offers new insights into the economic strategies of Late Pleistocene-early Holocene hunter-gatherers living in, or adjacent to, tropical rainforests.
Details
- Title
- Rare Late Pleistocene-early Holocene human mandibles from the Niah Caves (Sarawak, Borneo)
- Creators
- Darren Curnoe - UNSW SydneyIpoi Datan - Sarawak Museum DepartmentJian-xin Zhao - University of QueenslandCharles Leh Moi Ung - Sarawak Museum DepartmentMaxime Aubert - Griffith UniversityMohammed S. Sauffi - Sarawak Museum DepartmentGoh Hsiao Mei - Universiti Sains MalaysiaRaynold Mendoza - UNSW SydneyPaul S. C. Tacon - Griffith University
- Publication Details
- PloS one, Vol.13(6), e0196633
- Publisher
- Public Library Science
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- This work was funded by the Australian Research Council (grants FT120100168 to Darren Curnoe, LP120200144 to Darren Curnoe and Paul Tacon, and CE170100015 to Darren Curnoe), http://www.arc.gov.au.
- Identifiers
- 991013103987702368
- Copyright
- © 2018 Curnoe et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article