Pieces of a human cranium could unveil the mysteries of a long-gone realm, dominated by poisonous Komodo dragons.
The ancient bone pieces, dating back 140,000 years, were found buried beneath what is now underwater territory in Indonesia.
By chance, they were discovered amidst tens of thousands of animal fossils when tons of sand and rocks were lifted from the seabed of the Madura Strait, which lies between Java and Madura Island.
The markings observed on the fossils indicate that Homo erectus may have adopted a hunting technique from their more advanced human counterparts, indicating an increased level of overlap and engagement with these species.
The skull was interred approximately 140,000 years ago, potentially serving as the initial indication of the existence of the ancient region referred to as Sundaland.
Live Science
reports.
The groundbreaking finding, released last week in the
The Quaternary Environment and Human Journal
, sheds light on how an undocumented Homo erectus group might have engaged with additional human populations across the stretch of territory that linked the islands.
The fossil evidence indicates that the Homo erectus in the region were hunting a prehistoric, cattle-like creature using methods not typically associated with their species, implying they may have been emulating techniques used by humans from the mainland.
The research indicates that early humans coexisted alongside Komodo dragons, creatures known for their venomous bites and ability to take down big animals.
Harold Berghuis, who led the research at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, explained to Live Science: “The hominins from the Madura Strait might have come up with this hunting approach on their own.”
‘However, the alternative scenario could be that this represents some form of cultural interchange.’
Following their examination of the rubble, the scientists discovered over 6,000 animal fossils—their discovery marks the initial instance of such remains being unearthed from the inundated region of Sundaland.
In the past, the region appeared quite distinct as early humans roamed and hunted there during the last Ice Age.
Sundaland was inhabited by elephants and their now-extinct elephant-like counterparts.
Stegodon
And water buffaloes roamed freely, while its rivers brimmed with an abundance of fish, turtles, river sharks, and hippopotami, as the fossils indicate.
The research team recognized 36 distinct species within the more than 6,000 fossils examined, including Komodo dragons, potentially making them ‘the dominant predators’ in Sundaland, according to Berghuis.
However, the ancient human remains might have vanished permanently due to a large-scale construction endeavor initiated in the channel to build an artificial island.
Diggers pulled up around 177 million cubic feet of sand and sandstones near Surabaya between 2014 and 2015, which was then used the create the island.
Berghuis devoted several weeks crawling on his hands and knees looking for any fossils linked to humans. He ultimately struck gold on his final day at the location.
He stated, “As dusk approached, I took a seat to appreciate the sunset.”
“And next to me was lying this fossil that resembled the sole Dutch Neanderthal specimen known across my nation, which had been retrieved from the North Sea.”
The earliest ancestor of humans developed a body similar to ours and migrated from Africa to Asia and Europe over its 2-million-year history.
As suggested by its name, Homo erectus was bipedal; however, their teeth were bigger and brains were smaller compared to those of present-day humans.
It is believed that Homo erectus was the earliest human species to have utilized fire approximately 1 million years ago.
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