Bones found in Philippines may belong to previously unknown human relative


The right upper teeth of the individual CCH6 of the newly discovered species Homo luzonensis. From left are two premolars and three molars. (Callao Cave Archaeology Project/Associated Press)

Understanding human evolution in Asia now 'messier, more complicated,' scientist says

The Associated Press · Posted: Apr 10, 2019 4:19 PM ET | Last Updated: an hour ago

Thirteen fossil bones and teeth excavated in a cave in the Philippines represent an enigmatic previously unknown human species, probably small in stature and possessing an unexpected mix of archaic and modern traits, scientists said on Wednesday.

'Smoke from a much, much bigger fire'

After all, he said in an interview, remains of the hobbits and H. luzonensis show a mix of primitive and more modern traits that differ from what's seen in H. erectus. They look more like what one what might find in Africa 1.5 to 2.5 million years ago, and which might have been carried out of that continent by the mystery species, he said.

The discovery of a new human relative on Luzon might be "smoke from a much, much bigger fire," he said.

Michael Petraglia of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, said the Luzon find "shows we still know very little about human evolution, particularly in Asia."

More such discoveries will probably emerge with further work in the region, which is under-studied, he said in an email.

Svartalf wrote:assuming I'm right, which is not guaranteed... I've got a somewhat complicated family tree (but then again, who doesn"t?)

The_Piper wrote:Shrimpy, perhaps somewhat arboreal humans. I think I'm losing track of how many relatives we had alive at one geologically recent time.

Spearthrower wrote:

Svartalf wrote:assuming I'm right, which is not guaranteed... I've got a somewhat complicated family tree (but then again, who doesn"t?)

That family tree is becoming more complicated every year!

Unless you've got Basque in your make-up, you can probably be reasonably certain of your genetic heritage of the last 7,000 years anyway.

A new tiny hominin discovery gives the 'hobbit' a distant cousin


Discovered in the Philippines, this new human relative changes our picture of 'out of Africa'

CBC Radio · Posted: Apr 13, 2019 12:00 PM ET | Last Updated: April 13