Human ancestors made ancient entry to Java
By Bruce Bower
A group of humanity’s predecessors known as Homo erectus had reached eastern Asia by 1.5 million years ago and inhabited the region until about 1.0 million years ago, a new investigation finds.
The findings, based on chemical analyses of fossil-bearing soil on the Indonesian island of Java, lend weight to the theory that H. erectus ventured into eastern Asia long before most anthropologists traditionally believed. Geologist Roy Larick of URS Corporation in San Francisco and his colleagues focused on relatively undisturbed sediment layers that alternate with layers of volcanic ash. Other researchers have excavated H. erectus remains throughout these layers, which lie in central Java.