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Headline: RAW VIDEO: Human tools dating back 1.5 million years found in Indonesian islands
Caption: Archaeologists have uncovered stone tools on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi which they believe could be up to 1.48 million years old – the earliest evidence of humans living in the Wallacea region. The discovery, in Soppeng, South Sulawesi, was made by a team from Griffith University in Australia and partners in Indonesia. The small, sharp tools were found alongside animal fossils, including the jawbone of an extinct pig with unusually large tusks. Dating of the sandstone and fossil remains suggests the tools are between 1.04 million and 1.48 million years old. Until now, the oldest known human-related artefacts in Wallacea – a group of islands between Asia and Australia – dated to about 194,000 years ago. The tools are thought to have been made by early humans such as Homo erectus – or a related species – by striking pebbles from nearby riverbeds to create sharp edges for cutting or scraping. No human fossils have yet been found at the site, leaving the identity of the toolmakers unknown. The region’s tropical climate makes DNA preservation difficult, and the fossil record is sparse. Wallacea includes islands such as Sulawesi, Lombok, Flores, Timor and Sumbawa. Reaching them from mainland Asia would have required crossing deep ocean channels, even during ice ages when sea levels were lower. Researchers say the find raises questions about how early humans reached such islands. They may have drifted on natural rafts of vegetation, as is thought to have happened with some animals. The findings, published in Nature, could reshape theories of early human migration, suggesting ancient humans were living on multiple Wallacean islands far earlier than previously believed.
Keywords: tools,stone,ancient,archaeology,history,science,feature,video,photo
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