Oldest human bones in Japan shown to media

The oldest human bones ever discovered in Japan have been shown to the media for the first time.

Six fragments of human bone unearthed in a cave on Ishigaki Island in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost region, were presented to reporters in the Okinawan capital of Naha on Monday.

Archaeologists have determined that one of the bone fragments, an 8 centimeter-wide, 12 centimeter-long piece of skull from a male in his 20s to 30s, dates back to about 20,000 years ago.

That is 6,000 years earlier than the oldest bones previously found in Japan.

The other 5 fragments include the arch of the right foot of an adult male thought to have lived about 19,000 years ago, and a bone from the right leg of a male who lived about 15,000 years ago.

Associate Professor of the University of the Ryukyus Naomi Doi says the archeological find has confirmed that humans lived on Ishigaki Island in the Paleolithic era.

She also says scientists may be able to advance their research into the origins of the Japanese race by comparing the bone fragments with others found on mainland Japan.

Okinawa Prefecture plans to carry out further excavations at the cave around the middle of this year.

2010/02/08 19:47(JST)
(JST: UTC+9hrs.)