Cited by 330Pleistocene-Era Hominins and ArchaeologyPacific and Southeast Asian StudiesEvolution and Paleontology Studies

Revised stratigraphy and chronology for Homo floresiensis at Liang Bua in Indonesia

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Sutikna, Thomas, Tocheri, Matthew W., Morwood, Michael J., Saptomo, E. Wahyu, Jatmiko, Awe, Rokus Due, Wasisto, Sri, Westaway, Kira E. +13 more·2016·Nature

Abstract

Homo floresiensis, a primitive hominin species discovered in Late Pleistocene sediments at Liang Bua (Flores, Indonesia), has generated wide interest and scientific debate. A major reason this taxon is controversial is because the H. floresiensis-bearing deposits, which include associated stone artefacts and remains of other extinct endemic fauna, were dated to between about 95 and 12 thousand calendar years (kyr) ago. These ages suggested that H. floresiensis survived until long after modern humans reached Australia by ~50 kyr ago. Here we report new stratigraphic and chronological evidence from Liang Bua that does not support the ages inferred previously for the H. floresiensis holotype (LB1), ~18 thousand calibrated radiocarbon years before present (kyr cal. BP), or the time of last appearance of this species (about 17 or 13-11 kyr cal. BP). Instead, the skeletal remains of H. floresiensis and the deposits containing them are dated to between about 100 and 60 kyr ago, whereas stone artefacts attributable to this species range from about 190 to 50 kyr in age. Whether H. floresiensis survived after 50 kyr ago--potentially encountering modern humans on Flores or other hominins dispersing through southeast Asia, such as Denisovans--is an open question.

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Crossref · 10.1038/nature17179

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Authors
Sutikna, T., Tocheri, M. W., Morwood, M. J., Saptomo, E. W., Jatmiko, Awe, R. D., Wasisto, S., Westaway, K. E., Aubert, M., Li, B., Zhao, J.-X., Storey, M., Alloway, B. V., Morley, M. W., Meijer, H. J. M., van den Bergh, G. D., Grün, R., Dosseto, A., Brumm, A., Jungers, W. L., & Roberts, R. G.
Affiliations
  • University of Wollongong (AU)
  • Smithsonian Institution (US)
  • Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ID)
  • Macquarie University (AU)
  • Griffith University (AU)
  • The University of Queensland (AU)
  • Natural History Museum of Denmark (DK)
  • Stony Brook University Hospital (US)
Corresponding author
  • Sutikna, Thomas
  • Tocheri, Matthew W.
  • Roberts, Richard G.
Venue
Nature
Published
2016-03-30
Volume
532
Issue
7599
Pages
366-369
ISSN
  • 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
  • 1476-4687
OpenAlex
W2325450048
Cited by
330
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 18 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 27 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 32 · 2019: 46 · 2018: 48 · 2017: 33 · 2016: 22 · 2014: 1
FWCI
194.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Commons - University of South Florida (University of South Florida) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Online (University of Wollongong) (submittedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • ANU Open Research (Australian National University) (submittedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
  • Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion)
  • ResearchSpace (University of Auckland) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
Villum Fonden (00007408)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
  • Social Sciences › Geography, Planning and Development › Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
Keywords
Homo floresiensis, Flores, stratigraphy, radiometric dating, Late Pleistocene, hominin chronology, lithic artifacts, cave occupation, hominin dispersal, Pleistocene megafauna
MeSH terms
Aluminum Silicates, Animals, Archaeology, Australia, Calibration, Fossils, Glass, Humans, Indonesia, Quartz, Time Factors, Hominidae, Potassium Compounds, Geologic Sediments, Uncertainty, Radiometric Dating, Caves

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