Ancient DNA and multimethod dating confirm the late arrival of anatomically modern humans in southern China
Xuefeng Sun, Shaoqing Wen, Cheng-qiu Lu, Bo-yan Zhou, Darren Curnoe, Huayu Lu, Hong‐Chun Li, Wei Wang, Hai Cheng, Shuang-wen Yi, Xin Jia, Pan-xin Du, Xing-hua Xu, Yi-ming Lu, Ying Lü, Hong-Xiang Zheng, Hong Zhang, Chang Sun, Lan‐Hai Wei, Fei Han, Juan Huang, R. Lawrence Edwards, Jin Li, Hui Li
Abstract
Significance Genetic studies show the founders of all living non-African populations expanded from Africa ca. 65 to 45 ka. This “late dispersal” model has been challenged by the discovery of isolated AMHs at caves in southern China suggested as early as ca. 120 ka. We assessed the age of early AMH fossils from five caves in this region using ancient DNA analysis and a multimethod geological dating strategy. We found they were much younger than previously suggested, with some remains dating to the Holocene owing to the complex depositional history at these subtropical caves. Current evidence shows AMHs settled southern China within the timeframe set by molecular data of less than ca. 50 to 45 ka and no earlier.