The origins of recent Southeast Asians are debated with two contrasting theories. The first theory, based on the “out of Africa” model, suggests that modern humans migrated from Africa to Asia roughly 50,000–70,000 years ago. Skulls discovered within the Upper Zhoukoudian Cave in China, which look more like modern Africans and Europeans than modern Asians, support this theory.
However, some scientists imagine that the people of Southeast Asia are direct descendants of Homo erectus, which migrated from Africa to Asia about 1.8 million years ago. The physical characteristics of recent Asians might be traced to specimens reminiscent of Dali and Peking Man. The fossil record of Southeast Asia from 100,000 to 25,000 years ago is sparse, with few securely dated archaeological sites or fossils.
The exception is a contemporary human skeleton discovered in Tianyuan Cave in Zhoukoudian, China, dated to 42,000–38,500 years ago. The specimen has archaic features of teeth and hand bones, indicating that the dispersal of recent humans out of Africa can have involved multiple migratory event.
Modern Southeast Asian features reminiscent of upward facing of the cheekbones, a large face with limited protrusion, flattened nasal bones and a large nose, and shovel-shaped incisors weren’t present in early humans in Asia.
The earliest evidence of those features within the fossil record was present in skulls from Baoji and Huaxian in China, that are roughly 7,000 years old. Genetic studies indicate that around 10,000 years ago, Asia experienced a big population decline followed by a rapid population increase dominated by Asian characteristics related to the spread of agriculture.
Early specimens lacking modern Southeastern features include the Liujiang skull from Guangxi Province in southern China, the Zhoukoudian skull from Upper Cave 101, and the Minatogawa 1 skull from Japan, all dated to 25,000–10,000 years ago, the latter sharing more features with the skull Liujiang than with Neolithic and modern Asians.
The fragment describes the Indonesian fossil record and its relationship to the evolution of recent Indonesians and indigenous Australians. He notes that attempts to prove continuity of evolution from the fossil record have been unsuccessful resulting from its fragmentary and limited nature, and plenty of fossils have been found without their exact location recorded.
The anatomical features used to exhibit evolutionary sequence are also disputed. The passage mentions specific fossils, including the Wadjak skull, which was originally considered 50,000 years old but is now considered lower than 20,000 years old, and the Solo Man skullcap, which has similarities to earlier Homo specimens erectus and is of uncertain age and placement. This passage also mentions Java Man, a Homo erectus skull dating back to 500,000 years ago.
Source:
Australian Museum. “The first modern humans in Southeast Asia”. Australian Museum, 6 March 2020, australian.museum/learn/science/human-evolution/the-first-modern-humans-in-sutheast-asia/#gallery-218-2.
