Discovery in Sulawesi reveals evidence of the presence of hominids capable of maritime crossings for over a million years.
A series of stone tools found on Sulawesi Indonesia Island, dated 1.48 million years ago, can change what is known about the first human migrations. The discovery suggests that primitive hominids, possibly homo erectus, were able to cross wide sea extensions far than thought.
Archaeologists from Australia and Indonesia discovered, in the Soppeng region, in Sulwesi do Sul, small chipped tools used to cut animals and sculpt rocks. The artifacts were found buried in sandstone outcrops, on the bed of an old river, alongside fossils of extinct species, such as a primitive type of elephant and a giant pig, reveal in one
“We excavated here in the outcrops of sandstone, a series of stone artifacts, alat batu. These are artifacts manufactured by old human beings who lived on earth long before the evolution of our species, Homo sapiens. We thought it was probably the Homo Erectus and that could, in some way, come from the Asian continent, through a significant oceanic crevice, there is at least there is at least there One million years, ”Adam Brumm, Archaeologist at Griffith University, told Reuters.
To date the find, the team resorted to the Electron Spin Resonance – Esr.
“We chose the radioactive dating method. It is usually better to have tooth samples. We were fortunate, in this excavation, that our archaeologists found fragments of old animal teeth. This is what we hurt and found that the specimens were between 1 million and about 1.4 million years,” explained Unggul Prasetyo Wibowo, paleontologist at the Bandung Institute of Technology.
According to Brumm, “We now have some of the oldest evidence throughout the region of the presence of primitive humans at least one million years.”
This is a relevant discovery because Sulawesi is the largest island in Wallacea, an archipelago that has never been linked to continental masses, located between Asia, Australia and New Guinea.
Rewrite the history of migrations
So far, it has been believed that Wallacea’s early humans – prehistoric beings known as Homo Erectus – had established themselves on the Island of Flores, Indonesia, and Luzon Island, in the Philippines, about 1.02 million years ago, but were unable to make long sea trips.
“We now know that at least a million years ago, the early humans lived in this landscape, here on Sulawesi Island. It is indeed an extraordinary discovery, because it shows us that these early humans were somehow able to make significant ocean crossings,” Brumm said.
For Buddento Hakim, archaeologist at Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency, climate change was decisive.
“Migration is caused by several factors. The first is climate change, which caused a shortage of food sources. These humans sought new places with foods that could support their lives. So when the food was running out in Java, they went looking for other sites. So they had constant plans to migrate.”
Hakim also underlines the importance of protecting the site.
“We have already released good data on the beginning of the presence of humans in Wallacea. These data are very important, they are related to the spread of humans worldwide. We hope that the local government declares the hills of Walanae a national site and that there is an effort to develop the Paleolithic Museum of Calio, which is currently in very bad condition. world “.
The findings were made at Walanae hills, where excavations since 2019 had already revealed fossils and tools about 700,000 years.
Wallacea is composed of islands such as Sulawesi, Lombok, Flores, Timor and Sumbawa, located between Borneo and Java, Australia and New Guinea. The name was given in honor of the naturalistwho studied the fauna and flora of the region.
