Archaeologists discovered ancient DNA in the remains a woman who lived 7,200 years ago in Indonesia. This discovery challenges previous knowledge about early human migration.
The remains of a teenage boy named Bess were found in the Leang Panninge cave, on the Indonesian island Sulawesi. In 2015, the first excavations began.
This discovery was published in Nature. It is believed that it is the first time that ancient human DNA has ever been found in Wallacea, a vast chain of atolls and islands in the ocean between Australia and mainland Asia.
The petrous portion of Besss' temporal bone that houses the inner ear, was used to extract the DNA.
Professor Adam Brumm from Griffith University, who led the research, stated that intact DNA is a rare discovery.
Brumm stated that the humid tropics can be very harsh on DNA preservation in ancient human bone and tooth bones.
Only one or two pre-neolithic skeletons have provided ancient DNA for all of mainland Southeast Asia.
In America, ancient DNA analysis is revolutionizing our understanding of early human history. It is a method that analyzes the genetic diversity, population movements and demographic history of people living in northern Europe.
Initial excavations began in 2015 at Leang Panninge Cave on the island Sulawesi. Photograph by University of Hasanuddin
Researchers describe Besss as a "genetic fossil". Brumm stated that genetic sequencing revealed she had a unique ancestral story, which was not shared by any living person today or any humans from the ancient past.
About half of Bess' genetic makeup is identical to people living today in Indigenous Australia and New Guinea, and around half are from the Western Pacific islands.
Her ancestors would have been part of the initial movement of early human beings from Asia to mainland via these Wallacean islands to what we now call Sahul. This was the combined Ice Age landmass Australia and New Guinea, Brumm stated.
Toalean stone-arrowheads. Along with prehistoric tools, red ochre and other remains of bess, they were also found. Photograph by Shahna Britton & Andrew Thomson
Surprisingly Besss DNA also revealed an ancient link with east Asia. This challenges the timeline of Wallacea's migration.
According to Brumm, the Wallacean region was first settled by people of predominantly Asian ancestry around three or four thousand years ago. This is when the first prehistoric neolithic farmers arrived from Taiwan.
This suggests that there was an earlier migration of people from Asia to this area if you find this Asian ancestry in someone who hunted and gathered for thousands of years.
Bess is also a first-ever skeleton from the Toalean Culture, a group that lived in South Sulawesi between 1,500 to 8,000 years ago.
At the time of her burial, she was approximately 17-18 years old. Her remains were also found with prehistoric stone tools and red-ochre. She also had bones from hunted wild animals.
