Zhizhendong

Fossil finds were discovered by Chinese paleontologists in 2007 ^[1] . The remains were covered with a continuous sag of and were in a layer that was originally dated between 113 and 100 thousand years ago ^[1] . Later, more accurate dating gave an estimate of about 116 to 106 thousand years ago ^[3] .

Among the finds were the remains of large mammals, including orangutans , elephants , tapirs , rhinos , goats , deer, bears , badgers and leopards ^[1] . About 25 percent of large mammals whose remains are found in the cave have now become extinct ^[4] .

Three units of human remains were identified: two upper molars ( Zhizhen-1 and Zhizhen-2 ) and the front of the lower jaw ( Zhizhen-3 ) ^[1] . All three fragments probably belonged to at least two different individuals; the belonging of fragments Zhizhen-1 and Zhizhen-3 to one individual is unlikely ^[1] .

Compared to the fossils of the Upper Pleistocene from western Eurasia, the finds of Zhizhen-1 and Zhizhen-2 are smaller and similar to the later hominids , however, among the fossils of the East Asian Upper Pleistocene, there is insufficient material for a full comparison ^[4] .

Zhizhen-3 has a combination of archaic and advanced features ^[1] . The most significant feature of this find is the presence of a chin protrusion ^{[1] [2]} . Based on dating, the American paleontologist, a specialist in human evolution , Eric Trinkaus , considers these findings as the remains of "the oldest modern people outside of Africa" ^[2] . However, other researchers are skeptical of this conclusion, since it significantly diverges from the generally accepted dating of a person’s exit from Africa , according to which Homo sapiens appeared in South Asia no earlier than 60 thousand years ago ^[4] .

• Denisova cave