| Homo luzonensis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| CCH6a–e,molar andpremolar teeth dated around 49,200 years ago | |
 | |
| CCH1, a 67,000 year oldthird metatarsal bone | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Primates |
| Family: | Hominidae |
| Genus: | Homo |
| Species: | †H. luzonensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Homo luzonensis Détroitet al., 2019[1] | |
Homo luzonensis, also known asCallao Man and locally called "Ubag" after a mythical caveman,[2][3] is an extinct, possiblypygmy, species ofarchaic human from theLate Pleistocene ofLuzon, thePhilippines. Their remains, teeth andphalanges, are known only fromCallao Cave in the northern part of the island dating to before 50,000 years ago. They were initially identified as belonging to modern humans in 2010, but in 2019, after the discovery of more specimens, they were placed into a new species based on the presence of a wide range of traits similar to modern humans as well as toAustralopithecus and earlyHomo. In 2023, a study found that the fossilized remains were 134,000 ± 14,000 years old, much older than previously thought.[4]
Their ancestors, who may have been AsianH. erectus or some other even earlierHomo, would have needed to have made a sea crossing of several miles at minimum to reach the island.Hominin presence on Luzon dates to as early as 771,000 to 631,000 years ago.[5] The inhabitants of the cave dragged in mainlyPhilippine deer carcasses, and used tools for butchering.
The first bone was discovered in 2007 by zooarchaeologistPhilip Piper[6][7] while sorting through animal bones recovered from the archaeological excavation led by Filipino archaeologistArmand Mijares inCallao Cave, NorthernLuzon, Philippines. In 2010, Mijares and French bioanthropologistFlorent Détroit [fr], together with a team of international and local Philippine archaeologists, identified them as belonging to modern humans.[8] After the discovery of 12 new specimens and based on the apparent presence of both modern human-like and primitiveAustralopithecus-like features, they reassigned the remains (and otherhominin findings from the cave) to a new species,Homo luzonensis, the specific name deriving from the name of the island.[1]
Theholotype, CCH6, comprises the upper rightpremolars andmolars. Theparatypes are: CCH1, a rightthird metatarsal bone of the foot; CCH2 and CCH5, twophalanges of the fingers; CCH3 and CCH4, two phalanges of the foot; CCH4, a left premolar; and CCH9, a right third molar. CCH7 represents a juvenilefemoral shaft. These represent at least three individuals. The specimens are kept at theNational Museum of the Philippines, Manila.[1]
The exact taxonomic placement ofH. luzonensis is unknown, and, like for other tropical hominins, DNA extraction failed.[1] It is possible that—like what is hypothesized forH. floresiensis fromFlores, Indonesia—H. luzonensis descended from an earlyH. erectus dispersal across Southeast Asia. It is also possible that these two insular archaic humans descend from an entirely differentHomo species possibly earlier thanH. erectus.[9][10] The bones were dated to before 50,000 years ago,[1] and there is evidence of hominin activity on the island as early as 771,000 – 631,000 years ago.[5]
Like otherendemic fauna on Luzon, as well asH. floresiensis,H. luzonensis may have shrunk in size due toinsular dwarfism. However, more complete remains are needed to verify size.[1][11] Much likeH. floresiensis,H. luzonensis presents a number of characteristics more similar toAustralopithecus and earlyHomo than to modern humans and more recentHomo.[1]
The teeth ofH. luzonensis are small and mesiodistally (the width of the tooth) shortened. The molars are smaller than those ofH. floresiensis. Like other recentHomo and modern humans, the molars decrease in size towards the back of the mouth, and theenamel-dentin juncture lacks well defined wavy crenulations. The enamel-dentine juncture is most similar to that of AsianH. erectus. The premolars are oddly large compared to the molars, with more similar proportions toParanthropus than any otherHomo, thoughH. luzonensis postcanine teeth differ greatly from those ofParanthropus in size and shape.H. luzonensis premolars share many characteristics with those ofAustralopithecus,Paranthropus, and earlyHomo.[1]
The finger bones are long, narrow, and curved, which is seen inAustralopithecus,H. floresiensis, and sometimes modern humans. They aredorso-palmarly (from the palm to the back of the hand) compressed, and have well-developedflexor sheath attachment, which are seen inAustralopithecus and the earlyH. habilis. Unique toH. luzonensis, the dorsal beak near the knuckle was strongly developed and angled towards the wrist rather than the finger. The foot bones are morphologically unique amongHomo, and are distinguishable from those ofA. africanus andA. afarensis.Australopithecus limbs are generally interpreted as being adaptations forbipedalism and potentiallysuspensory behavior in the trees, but the fragmentary record ofH. luzonensis limits extrapolation of locomotory behavior.[1]
Since the remains are so fragmentary, it is difficult to make accurate estimates of actual size for this species, but they may have been within the range of modern dayPhilippine Negritos, who average 151 cm (4 ft 11 in) in height for males and 142 cm (4 ft 8 in) for females.[10]
Because Luzon has always been an island in theQuaternary, the ancestors ofH. luzonensis would have had to have made a substantial sea crossing over theHuxley Line.[1]
About 90% of the bone fragments from Callao Cave belong to thePhilippine deer, which suggests that deer carcasses were periodically brought into the cave. With the exception ofPalawan (where there weretigers), there is no evidence of large carnivores ever inhabiting the Philippines during the Pleistocene, which attributes these remains to human activity. ThePhilippine warty pig and an extinctbovid were also present. There are cut marks on a deer tibia, and a lack of tools in the cave could either have resulted from the use of organic material for tools rather than stone, or the processing of meat away from the cave.[12]
TheRizal Archaeological Site situated inRizal, Kalinga,Philippines and within an area that has been subject to archaeological explorations since the 1950s, yielded an almost complete skeleton of a rhino (the extinctNesorhinus philippinensis), which had been butchered by early hominins c. 709,000 years ago. Together with the rhinoceros skeleton, sixlithic cores, forty-ninelithic flakes, and twohammerstones, were found at the Rizal site. Some cores and the used lithic raw material show a similarity to thechert assemblage from theLower Paleolithic Arubo 1 site in central Luzon.[13][14] Also present were the remains of the elephant-relativeStegodon, the Philippine deer, freshwater turtles, andmonitor lizards.[5]
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Media related toHomo luzonensis at Wikimedia Commons
Data related toHomo luzonensis at Wikispecies| Taxonomy (Hominins) |
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