Discovered more human species have existed alongside us for 200,000 years

Research led by Professor Russell Ciochon from the University of Iowa (USA) confirms that on a mysterious island in Southeast Asia, the Homo ecrectus, like the supposedly very old, very underdeveloped, has silently After hundreds of thousands of years, it is considered extinct worldwide.

A close up of archaeological works on Java island - (photo: IOWA UNIVERSITY)

Homo ecrectus is thought to be a very primitive species of the genus Man, and was the first to turn upright, wandering the earth 2 million years ago. They were thought to be extinct 400,000-500,000 years ago, before the Homo sapiens, also known as "modern people" or "smart people" , ie us, appeared.

But the study, published in the journal Nature , confirms the latest Homo ecrectus remains found in the Ngandong area of ​​the Indonesian island of Java from 117,000-108,000 years old. This shows that they did not disappear as we thought. With over 300,000 years of age of Homo sapiens we can say that this ancient human species has coexisted with us silently for 200,000 years.

Portrait of a Homo Erectus - (photo: SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY)

It has always been a hidden existence. In the DNA of many modern people, there are traces of two ancient species, Neanderthals and Denisovans, originating from different species of ancestral marriages. But the trace of Homo erectus is not. This is because it seems that from the time humans were born, all the Homo erectus left on earth were hidden on the island of Java, which was untouched and had no footprints of Homo sapiens.

The ancestors of this group, whose remains are 12 skulls and 2 lower leg bones, have settled on Java for about 1 million years. These last Homo erectus seemed to have died together in the catastrophe, based on the characteristics of the place they were found: a flood of mud swept away all along the way, be it due to heavy rain or volcanoes, swept them away. into the deepest corners of the Solo River.

Professor Russell Ciochon is found inside these ancient human skulls found in Java - (photo: IOWA UNIVERSITY)

So this human species has existed on Earth for 1.9 million years, possibly the longest time a species of the genus of humans ever lived.

However, before their extinction, they were able to leave their descendants on a number of other Southeast Asian islands, who evolved into Homo floresiensis, the famous "hobbit dwarfs" that have entered literature and movies. . Unfortunately, the hobbits also became extinct because of the natural disaster.

It was not until 39,000 years ago that the first Homo sapiens arrived on Java, leaving the pristine island once again populated. Scientists believe that at that time, at some point of the year, the sea level was low enough to reveal land bridges connecting the continent and some islands in Southeast Asia, helping ancient people find looking for new lands.