Thousands of years ago in a realm of southerly China , different species of ancient humans might have been mixing a mountain more than antecedently intend . research worker examine a small-arm ofthigh bonefound in China suggest that an ancient species of human , once thought to have gone nonextant tens of thousands of years ago , might have survived until the last frappe age , just 14,000 days ago . This would stand for it would have lived in the same region during the time when it was populate by four other specie of human .
The new cogitation link up to a fragment of second joint off-white that has been sit in a museum for the last 25 old age . earlier discover in Maludong – or Red Deer Cave – in the Chinese province of Yunnan in 1989 , the piece of pearl might ab initio seem quite unremarkable . But research worker studying the sherd have paint a picture that the syllable structure of the piece indicate that it could actually be from a “ pre - modern " human .
harmonise to the researchers , the long , svelte var. of the bone and buttress near the top resembles that found in pre - modern humans such asHomo habilisorHomo erectus , both of which were much more primitive look . It was previously thought that these species of ancient humans live nonextant around 1.5 million and 70,000 years ago , respectively .
“ Its young old age suggests the possibility that primitive - looking humans could have live until very lately in our organic evolution , but we take to careful as it is just one bone , ” said Professor Ji Xueping , who co - conduce the study published inPLOS ONE , in astatement .
If what they ’re suggesting is true , then it would imply that the older coinage would have go in tropical southern China overlapping in time with not only modern humans , orHomo sapiens , but also Neanderthals , the so - call “ hobbits ” from the island of Flores in Indonesia , and the mysterious Denisovans , who are known just from a few tiny shard of bone and teeth found in Siberia .
“ The unique environs and climate of southwest China resulting from the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau may have supply a refuge for human diversity , perhaps with pre - mod group surviving very late,”explainedProfessor Ji .
The researchers are , however , very quick toadd cautionto their discovery . “ The face postulate to be built up tardily with more bone discoveries,”saysDarren Curnoe , who also co - led the research . The fact that they ’re basing this on just a individual bone , and not even a whole one at that , does have in mind that perhaps not too much should be drawn from the study .
But with more and more insight into how ancient human species develop , transmigrate , and interact , with late archaeological and transmissible finds from the like of South Africa and Siberia , it adds another tantalising thread to the narrative of our mintage and our ancient relative .
Image in textual matter : The thigh os sherd which displays primative feature , and yet is only 14,000 years old . Darren Curnoe & Ji Xueping
