Scientists have made a groundbreaking underwater discovery off Indonesia's coast that could rewrite human history.
Skull fragments of Homo erectus, an ancient human ancestor, have been found beneath the sea in the Madura Strait between Java and Madura.
Experts believe this site may provide the first physical evidence of Sundaland, a vast prehistoric landmass that once connected Southeast Asia.
The skull bones were discovered alongside 6,000 animal fossils representing 36 different species, including Komodo dragons, buffalo, deer, and elephant.
The discovery was made off Indonesia's coast
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Some of these fossils show deliberate cut marks, providing clear evidence that early humans were practising sophisticated hunting techniques in this now-submerged region.
The fossils were initially discovered by maritime sand miners in 2011, though experts have only recently determined their age and species, marking a significant milestone in paleoanthropology.
The discovery began during marine sand mining operations in the Madura Strait. Alongside the 6,000 fossils, workers at a reclamation site near Surabaya discovered two human skull fragments.
Researchers identified remains of an extinct genus of large herbivorous mammals called Stegodon, which could reach up to 13 feet at the shoulder and weigh more than 10 tonnes.
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Various deer species were also found, indicating a diverse and healthy population that would have been an important food source for predators, including early humans.
The presence of antelope-like animals suggests the landscape was once grassland or savanna-like, rather than dense forest.
Sundaland was a vast tropical plain that once connected much of Southeast Asia before disappearing beneath the waves.
Between 14,000 and 7,000 years ago, melting glaciers caused sea levels to rise more than 120 metres, submerging these low-lying plains.
A reconstruction of Homo erectus illustrates the early human ancestor
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Researchers analysed sediment layers where the fossils were found and uncovered a buried valley system from the ancient Solo River, which once flowed eastward across the now-submerged Sunda Shelf.
They dispatched Optically Stimulated Luminescence on quartz grains to determine when the sediments were last exposed to the sun.
It places the valley fill and fossils between approximately 162,000 and 119,000 years ago, firmly within the late Middle Pleistocene epoch.
The two Homo erectus skull fragments, a frontal and a parietal bone, were compared to known specimens from Java's Sambungmacan site.
The close match confirmed the Madura Strait fossils as Homo erectus, expanding the species' known range into the now-submerged Sundaland region.
This site is now considered the first underwater hominin fossil locality in Sundaland.
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