The bones of a teenager who died more than 7,000 years ago on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi shed new light on human history. It has something to do with a never-before-discovered human lineage, according to researchers in renowned scientific journals temper tantrums.
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“For the first time, we found human DNA in an island region between Asia and Australia called Wallasia,” said Adam Broome, an Australian professor of archeology who co-authored the study. CNN. “This gives us new insights into the genetic diversity and population history of ancient modern humans in this unknown part of the world.”
According to scientists, the islands of Wallacea, including Indonesian islands such as Lombok and Sulawesi, were used by modern humans when they crossed from Eurasia to the Australian continent 50,000 years ago. “We don’t know how they got there. Maybe they have a relatively advanced type of ship, because there are no bridges between islands.”
Cave tools and paintings show that humans lived there 47,000 years ago, but DNA evidence has been lost due to the tropical climate prevailing there. As a result, DNA material is degraded faster.
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That has now changed. In 2015, researchers found the skeleton of a 17- or 18-year-old woman in a cave in Sulawesi. His remains were buried there 7,200 years ago. Bessie, as scholars call her, lay in a fetal position and the grave was covered with stones.
Bessé is part of the Toalean culture. “This is the name archaeologists give to a mysterious culture of prehistoric hunter-gatherers that lived in forested hills and mountains from about 8000 years ago to about the fifth century BC,” Broome said. This is the first time a fairly complete hunter-gatherer skeleton from that culture has been found.
DNA can be extracted from the skull, said lead author Selena Karlhoff. It seems to be “quite challenging”. But it’s worth it, it turns out. The young woman’s DNA offers new insights into human history as she appears to be descended from an unknown human lineage that can be found in the region. Not found before.
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