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Shipton C, Morley MW, Kealy S, Norman K, Boulanger C, Hawkins S, Litster M, Withnell C, O'Connor S. Abrupt onset of intensive human occupation 44,000 years ago on the threshold of Sahul. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4193. [PMID: 38778054 PMCID: PMC11111772 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48395-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Archaeological evidence attests multiple early dispersals of Homo sapiens out of Africa, but genetic evidence points to the primacy of a single dispersal 70-40 ka. Laili in Timor-Leste is on the southern dispersal route between Eurasia and Australasia and has the earliest record of human occupation in the eastern Wallacean archipelago. New evidence from the site shows that, unusually in the region, sediment accumulated in the shelter without human occupation, in the window 59-54 ka. This was followed by an abrupt onset of intensive human habitation beginning ~44 ka. The initial occupation is distinctive from overlying layers in the aquatic focus of faunal exploitation, while it has similarities in material culture to other early Homo sapiens sites in Wallacea. We suggest that the intensive early occupation at Laili represents a colonisation phase, which may have overwhelmed previous human dispersals in this part of the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceri Shipton
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK.
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
| | - Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
| | - Shimona Kealy
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia.
| | - Kasih Norman
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Griffith, QLD, Australia
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
| | - Clara Boulanger
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Department of Modern Society and Civilization, National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka, 565-8511, Japan
- UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Stuart Hawkins
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Mirani Litster
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | | | - Sue O'Connor
- ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
- Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
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2
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Vallini L, Zampieri C, Shoaee MJ, Bortolini E, Marciani G, Aneli S, Pievani T, Benazzi S, Barausse A, Mezzavilla M, Petraglia MD, Pagani L. The Persian plateau served as hub for Homo sapiens after the main out of Africa dispersal. Nat Commun 2024; 15:1882. [PMID: 38528002 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46161-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 03/27/2024] Open
Abstract
A combination of evidence, based on genetic, fossil and archaeological findings, indicates that Homo sapiens spread out of Africa between ~70-60 thousand years ago (kya). However, it appears that once outside of Africa, human populations did not expand across all of Eurasia until ~45 kya. The geographic whereabouts of these early settlers in the timeframe between ~70-60 to 45 kya has been difficult to reconcile. Here we combine genetic evidence and palaeoecological models to infer the geographic location that acted as the Hub for our species during the early phases of colonisation of Eurasia. Leveraging on available genomic evidence we show that populations from the Persian Plateau carry an ancestry component that closely matches the population that settled the Hub outside Africa. With the paleoclimatic data available to date, we built ecological models showing that the Persian Plateau was suitable for human occupation and that it could sustain a larger population compared to other West Asian regions, strengthening this claim.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Carlo Zampieri
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Mohamed Javad Shoaee
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Research Unit Prehistory and Anthropology, Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and Environment, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Serena Aneli
- Department of Public Health Sciences and Pediatrics, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Telmo Pievani
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Alberto Barausse
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Michael D Petraglia
- Human Origins Program, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Luca Pagani
- Department of Biology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.
- Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
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3
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Ao H, Ruan J, Martinón-Torres M, Krapp M, Liebrand D, Dekkers MJ, Caley T, Jonell TN, Zhu Z, Huang C, Li X, Zhang Z, Sun Q, Yang P, Jiang J, Li X, Xie X, Song Y, Qiang X, Zhang P, An Z. Concurrent Asian monsoon strengthening and early modern human dispersal to East Asia during the last interglacial. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2308994121. [PMID: 38190536 PMCID: PMC10801887 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308994121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 11/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The relationship between initial Homo sapiens dispersal from Africa to East Asia and the orbitally paced evolution of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM)-currently the largest monsoon system-remains underexplored due to lack of coordinated synthesis of both Asian paleoanthropological and paleoclimatic data. Here, we investigate orbital-scale ASM dynamics during the last 280 thousand years (kyr) and their likely influences on early H. sapiens dispersal to East Asia, through a unique integration of i) new centennial-resolution ASM records from the Chinese Loess Plateau, ii) model-based East Asian hydroclimatic reconstructions, iii) paleoanthropological data compilations, and iv) global H. sapiens habitat suitability simulations. Our combined proxy- and model-based reconstructions suggest that ASM precipitation responded to a combination of Northern Hemisphere ice volume, greenhouse gas, and regional summer insolation forcing, with cooccurring primary orbital cycles of ~100-kyr, 41-kyr, and ~20-kyr. Between ~125 and 70 kyr ago, summer monsoon rains and temperatures increased in vast areas across Asia. This episode coincides with the earliest H. sapiens fossil occurrence at multiple localities in East Asia. Following the transcontinental increase in simulated habitat suitability, we suggest that ASM strengthening together with Southeast African climate deterioration may have promoted the initial H. sapiens dispersal from their African homeland to remote East Asia during the last interglacial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Ao
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
- Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdao266237, China
| | - Jiaoyang Ruan
- Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan46241, South Korea
- Pusan National University, Busan46241, South Korea
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Dental Anthropology Group, National Research Center on Human Evolution, Burgos09002, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, LondonWC1H 0BW, United Kingdom
| | - Mario Krapp
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 1TN, United Kingdom
| | - Diederik Liebrand
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Manchester, ManchesterM13 9PL, United Kingdom
| | - Mark J. Dekkers
- Palaeomagnetic Laboratory ‘Fort Hoofddijk’, Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht3584 CD, The Netherlands
| | - Thibaut Caley
- Bordeaux Institut National Polytechnique, Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux, University of Bordeaux, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, UMR 5805, PessacF-33600, France
| | - Tara N. Jonell
- School of Geographical and Earth Sciences, University of Glasgow, GlasgowG12 8QQ, United Kingdom
| | - Zongmin Zhu
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan430074, China
| | - Chunju Huang
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan430074, China
| | - Xinxia Li
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Ziyun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Qiang Sun
- College of Geology and Environment, University of Science and Technology, Xi’an710054, China
| | - Pingguo Yang
- College of Life Science, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan030031, China
| | - Jiali Jiang
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan430074, China
| | - Xinzhou Li
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Xiaoxun Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Yougui Song
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Xiaoke Qiang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
| | - Peng Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
- Laoshan Laboratory, Qingdao266237, China
| | - Zhisheng An
- State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi’an710061, China
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an710049, China
- Interdisciplinary Research Center of Earth Science Frontier, Beijing Normal University, Beijing100875, China
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4
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Anderson HE, Morley MW, McAdams C, Zaim J, Rizal Y, Aswan, Puspaningrum MR, Hascaryo AT, Price GJ, Louys J. The microstratigraphy and depositional environments of Lida Ajer and Ngalau Gupin, two fossil-bearing tropical limestone caves of west Sumatra. Sci Rep 2024; 14:259. [PMID: 38168923 PMCID: PMC10761806 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-50975-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Lida Ajer and Ngalau Gupin are karstic caves situated in the Padang Highlands, western Sumatra, Indonesia. Lida Ajer is best known for yielding fossil evidence that places the arrival of Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia during Marine Isotope Stage 4, one of the earliest records for the region. Ngalau Gupin recently produced the first record of hippopotamid Hexaprotodon on the island, representing the only globally extinct taxon in Pleistocene deposits from Sumatra. Microstratigraphic (micromorphological) analyses were applied to unconsolidated fossil-bearing cave sediments from these two sites. We use micromorphology as part of a micro-contextualised taphonomic approach to identify the diagenetic processes affecting fossils and sediments within these caves, through phases of their depositional history. The fossil-bearing sediments in Lida Ajer have been subjected to a suite of natural sedimentation processes ranging from water action to carnivore occupation, which would indicate the fossils underwent significant reworking prior to lithification of the deposit. The results demonstrate that the base of the unconsolidated fossil-bearing sediments in Ngalau Gupin were derived from the interior of the cave, where the matrix was partially phosphatized as a result of guano-driven diagenesis. These observations can be used to test hypotheses about the integrity of incorporated vertebrate remains and to aid in local palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The methods employed in this research have not previously been applied to cave sediments from sites in the Padang Highlands and provide key new insights into the palaeontological and natural history of the western region of Sumatra.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly E Anderson
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia.
| | - Mike W Morley
- Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Conor McAdams
- Archaeology, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Jahdi Zaim
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, 40132, Indonesia
| | - Yan Rizal
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, 40132, Indonesia
| | - Aswan
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, 40132, Indonesia
| | - Mika R Puspaningrum
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, 40132, Indonesia
| | - Agus T Hascaryo
- Geology Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung, Jawa Barat, 40132, Indonesia
| | - Gilbert J Price
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, 4072, Australia
| | - Julien Louys
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, 4111, Australia
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5
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Bacon AM, Bourgon N, Dufour E, Demeter F, Zanolli C, Westaway KE, Joannes-Boyau R, Duringer P, Ponche JL, Morley MW, Suzzoni E, Frangeul S, Boesch Q, Antoine PO, Boualaphane S, Sichanthongtip P, Sihanam D, Huong NTM, Tuan NA, Fiorillo D, Tombret O, Patole-Edoumba E, Zachwieja A, Luangkhoth T, Souksavatdy V, Dunn TE, Shackelford L, Hublin JJ. Palaeoenvironments and hominin evolutionary dynamics in southeast Asia. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16165. [PMID: 37758744 PMCID: PMC10533506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43011-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Secure environmental contexts are crucial for hominin interpretation and comparison. The discovery of a Denisovan individual and associated fauna at Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra) Cave, Laos, dating back to 164-131 ka, allows for environmental comparisons between this (sub)tropical site and the Palearctic Denisovan sites of Denisova Cave (Russia) and Baishiya Karst Cave (China). Denisovans from northern latitudes foraged in a mix of forested and open landscapes, including tundra and steppe. Using stable isotope values from the Cobra Cave assemblage, we demonstrate that, despite the presence of nearby canopy forests, the Denisovan individual from Cobra Cave primarily consumed plants and/or animals from open forests and savannah. Using faunal evidence and proxy indicators of climates, results herein highlight a local expansion of rainforest at ~ 130 ka, raising questions about how Denisovans responded to this local climate change. Comparing the diet and habitat of the archaic hominin from Cobra Cave with those of early Homo sapiens from Tam Pà Ling Cave (46-43 ka), Laos, it appears that only our species was able to exploit rainforest resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marie Bacon
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, BABEL UMR 8045, 75012, Paris, France.
| | - Nicolas Bourgon
- IsoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elise Dufour
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Fabrice Demeter
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Eco-anthropologie (EA), MNHN, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Kira E Westaway
- 'Traps' Luminescence Dating Facility, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Philippe Duringer
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Luc Ponche
- Laboratoire Image, Ville Environnement, UMR 7362 UdS CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Eric Suzzoni
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Sébastien Frangeul
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Quentin Boesch
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Daovee Sihanam
- Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | | | | | - Denis Fiorillo
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Elise Patole-Edoumba
- Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle, UMRU 24140 Dynamiques, interactions, interculturalité asiatiques (UBM, LRUniv), La Rochelle, France
| | - Alexandra Zachwieja
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, Duluth, USA
| | | | | | - Tyler E Dunn
- Anatomical Sciences Education Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Laura Shackelford
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
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Xing S, Zanolli C, Zhang Y. Introduction to special issue: Pleistocene hominid diversity and evolution in Asia-A tribute to Pan Lei. J Hum Evol 2023; 182:103416. [PMID: 37598633 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France.
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
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7
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Coleman J. Laos cave fossils prompt rethink of human migration map. Nature 2023:10.1038/d41586-023-01903-3. [PMID: 37311995 DOI: 10.1038/d41586-023-01903-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
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