Human Ancestor Older Than Previously Thought; Finding Offers New Insights Into Evolution

Generalized composite sedimentary geology of the Ngandong and Jigar “20 meter terrace" denoting stratigraphic positions of Homo erectus fossil material and dated pumices. (Credit: Etty Indriati, Carl C. Swisher, ChristopherLepre, Rhonda L. Quinn, Rusyad A. Suriyanto, Agus T. Hascaryo, Rainer Grün,Craig S. Feibel, Briana L. Pobiner, Maxime Aubert, Wendy Lees, SusanC. Antón. The Age of the 20 Meter Solo River Terrace, Java, Indonesia andthe Survival of Homo erectus in Asia. PLoS ONE, 2011;6 (6): e21562 DOI: 10.1371/ journal.pone.0021562

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2011) — Modern humans never co-existed with Homo erectus -- a finding counter to previous hypotheses of human evolution -- new excavations in Indonesia and dating analyses show. The research, reported in the journal PLoS ONE, offers new insights into the nature of human evolution, suggesting a different role for Homo erectus than had been previously thought.

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