Age control of the first appearance datum for Javanese Homo erectus in the Sangiran area

A groundbreaking study refines the timeline of early human settlement in Java, revealing that Homo erectus first appeared in the Sangiran region around 1.3 million years ago—significantly later than previously thought. This challenges long-held assumptions about hominin dispersal in Asia during the Early Pleistocene. Researchers employed a combined fission-track and uranium-lead dating method to precisely calibrate the age of lower hominin-bearing horizons at the UNESCO World Heritage Site. The findings provide critical insights into human migration patterns, reshaping our understanding of early human history in Southeast Asia.

Matsu’ura, S., Kondo, M., Danhara, T., Sakata, S., Iwano, H., Hirata, T., Kurniawan, I., Setiyabudi, E., Takeshita, Y., Hyodo, M., Kitaba, I., Sudo, M., Danhara, Y., & Aziz, F. (2020). Age control of the first appearance datum for Javanese Homo erectus in the Sangiran area. Science, 367(6474), 210–214. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau8556