Preliminary study of two deciduous human molars from the Late Pleistocene layers of Song Terus (East Java): A window into the last Homo erectus and the first Homo sapiens in Java

Abstract

Java is one of the oldest places outside Africa which was occupied by early humans, from the first ‘archaic’ Homo erectus after 1.8 ma to the progressive form around 70-40 ka. Up to now, paleoanthropologists do not know clearly when the anatomically modern human started to colonize this island. Some previous scholars proposed scenarios which presumed to be as early as 125 ka, or just after one of the Toba eruptions after 74 ka, and or at least to the last glacial maximum about 21 ka. This research tried to contribute to the question about the history of human occupation in Java during the Late Pleistocene. Two unpublished deciduous teeth discovered in the Song Terus site are considered: ST06 is dated back from older than 80 ka and another tooth ST04 is younger than 60 ka. We compared both specimens with Homo erectus s.l., Neanderthal, ancient and recent Homo sapiens, to identify their taxonomical position. Morphological and metrical comparative analysis of the external and internal dental characters were observed. Preliminary results show that ST04 is closed to Homo sapiens while ST06 belongs to the Homo erectus s.l. group. It confirms that Homo erectus was still survived at least at the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, during the last interglacial maximum period (125 ka). Moreover, it suggested that Homo sapiens was probably present in Java Island after 60 ka at the same time as a renewal of the local fauna takes place. It could imply a chronological succession of occupations between the last Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens in Southeast Asia.