Study uncovers origin of the ‘Deep Skull’ of Southeast Asia

A new analysis has revealed a 37,000-year-old skull, the oldest contemporary human specimen found in South-East Asia, belongs to a person not related to indigenous Australians, as had been originally thought.

A report on the analysis published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution also said the specimen, known famously as the Deep Skull, belonged to an older woman, not a teenage boy as past research had indicated.

The study team said their work signifies the most comprehensive investigation of the ancient specimen since it was discovered in Niah Cave in Borneo in 1958.

“Our analysis overturns long-held views about the early history of this region,” Darren Curnoe, a director of paleontology at the University of New South Wales, said in a news release. “We’ve found that these very ancient remains most closely resemble some of the Indigenous people of Borneo today, with their delicately built features and small body size, rather than Indigenous people from Australia.”

Where did this skull come from?

The Deep Skull was found during excavations of the great Niah Cave and was later evaluated by notable British anthropologist Don Brothwell. In 1960, Brothwell determined the Deep Skull came from a teenage male and a population of early modern humans intently tied to indigenous Australians, and Tasmanians in particular.

“Brothwell’s ideas have been highly influential and stood largely untested, so we wanted to see whether they might be correct after almost six decades,” Curnoe said. “Our study challenges many of these old ideas. It shows the Deep Skull is from a middle-aged female rather than a teenage boy, and has few similarities to Indigenous Australians. Instead, it more closely resembles people today from more northerly parts of South-East Asia.”

The Aussie researcher noted that his team’s work and recent genetic studies of people across South-East Asia, “presents a serious challenge” to a predominant theory that says indigenous Australians first settled Borneo, and these folks were later replaced by migrating farmers.

“We need to rethink our ideas about the region’s prehistory, which was far more complicated than we’ve appreciated until now,” Curnoe said.

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Image credit: Curnoe

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