Fossil and genetic evidence shows that eastern Asia was a hotspot of diversity for the genus Homo during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Homo erectus, Denisovans (Homo longi and Homo juluensis) / Neanderthals, Homo floresiensis, and Homo Luzonensis were all present at one point or another. But when did modern humans arrive from Africa? In this episode, we talk to Fabrice Demeter about excavations at Tam Pa Ling cave in Laos, where his team has uncovered a rich fossil record documenting some of the earliest known modern humans in Southeast Asia. These discoveries place modern humans in the region as early as 86,000 years ago, with further evidence of their presence until around 54,000 years ago. Yet these early arrivals may have been part of a dispersal that ultimately failed, leaving little, if any, genetic trace in present-day populations. **Please do not forget to rate and review the show** Have a question or comment? Email: hello@worldsbeforedesign.com Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeforeUsMedia/ Or click “Send us a message!” at the top of this page. Key People Dr. Fabrice Demeter Key Places Tam Pa Ling Tam Hang Tam Ngu Hao 2 Key Species Homo sapiens Homo erectus Denisovans Homo juluensisHomo longi Further Reading Demeter, Fabrice, Clément Zanolli, Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Philippe Duringer, Mike W. Morley, Frido Welker et al. "A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite chain of northern Laos." Nature communications 13, no. 1 (2022): 2557. Demeter, Fabrice, Laura Shackelford, Kira Westaway, Lani Barnes, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Jean Dumoncel et al. "Early modern humans from Tam Pà Ling, Laos: fossil review and perspectives." Current Anthropology 58, no. S17 (2017): S527-S538. Demeter, Fabrice, Laura Shackelford, Kira Westaway, Philippe Duringer, Anne-Marie Bacon, Jean-Luc Ponche, Xiujie Wu et al. "Early modern humans and morphological variation in Southeast Asia: fossil evidence from Tam Pa Ling, Laos." PLoS One 10, no. 4 (2015): e0121193. Freidline, Sarah E., Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Mike W. Morley, Vito C. Hernandez et al. "Early presence of Homo sapiens in southeast Asia by 86–68 kyr at Tam Pà Ling, Northern Laos." Nature communications 14, no. 1 (2023): 3193. Milano, Stefania, Fabrice Demeter, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Philippe Duringer, Elise Patole-Edoumba, Jean-Luc Ponche, Laura Shackelford et al. "Environmental conditions framing the first evidence of modern humans at Tam Pà Ling, Laos: A stable isotope record from terrestrial gastropod carbonates." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 511 (2018): 352-363. Shackelford, Laura, Fabrice Demeter, Kira Westaway, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, Jian-Xin Zhao et al. "Additional evidence for early modern human morphological diversity in Southeast Asia at Tam Pa Ling, Laos." Quaternary International 466 (2018): 93-106. Click here to send us a message! Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.
