140,000-Year-Old Bones Found in Indonesia

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Scientists found 140,000-year-old human skull fragments on the Indonesian seafloor, challenging everything we knew about our ancient relatives.

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These Homo erectus remains are the first ever found underwater between Indonesian islands—proving our ancestors weren't isolated but traveled across a now-submerged continent.

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The incredible discovery happened by accident during a construction project when workers dredged up 177 million cubic feet of seafloor sediment.

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Archaeologist Harold Berghuis spent weeks crawling through piles of sand until finding a human skull fragment on his very last day—just as the sun was setting.

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During the ice age, sea levels dropped dramatically, exposing "Sundaland"—a vast savannah connecting Indonesian islands to mainland Asia, now hidden underwater.

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What did these ancient humans encounter? Researchers found 6,000+ animal fossils including elephants, hippos, and Komodo dragons that ruled the landscape.

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Cut marks on animal bones reveal these early humans were sophisticated hunters who extracted bone marrow—a skill previously only linked to more advanced human species.

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How did Homo erectus learn these advanced hunting skills? Scientists think they might have copied techniques from other human species—suggesting different human groups interacted.

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When sea levels rose, entire human landscapes disappeared underwater. How many other ancient settlements remain hidden beneath the waves?

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This discovery could be "just the beginning" of an enormous underwater archaeological archive waiting to be explored. What other secrets lie beneath the sea?

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