By KARLI FEINSTEIN
Archeologists have discovered the bones of a distantly related species called Homo luzonensis in the Callao Cave on Luzon Island in the Philippines. The fossils of the species belonged to two adults and one child.
According to researchers, the extinct human species lived on what is now the island of Luzon around 50,000 to 67,000 years ago. This time period concludes that the Homo luzonensis lived throughout the same time as the Denisovans, Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and the small-bodied Homo floresiensis.
What makes the Homo luzonensis different from other species is their distinct premolar teeth. The teeth are said to be unlike any other species belonging to the Homo genus.
Seven premolars and molars were found to be minor and more simplified than those of other Homo species. Even though some of the attributes can be compared to Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, both the teeth and jaw characteristics abide distinct as far as the peculiar features they synthesize.
“These adult teeth are smaller than any hominin known,” said Debbie Argue, a paleoanthropologist at Australian National University.
Researchers haven’t found enough bones to estimate how tall the Homo luzonensis would have been. Besides the lack of knowing how tall they would stand, the Homo luzonensis display their own mix of different traits and characteristics. For example, one toe bone looks practically identical to early hominions living in Africa more than three million years ago.
The discovery of these distinct species is growing speculation of the story of human evolution.
“The more fossils that people pull out of the ground, the more we realize that the variation that was present in the past far exceeds what we see in us today,” said Matthew Tocheri, a paleoanthropologist at Lakehead University in Canada.
Hearing about discoveries like this really make a person think about how humans ended up on earth. With the help of scientists and researchers, information about our world and the species who used to walk among it provide vital insight in the ongoing discovery of evolution.