400,000 Year Old Fossil Helps Shed New Light on Human Evolution

February 11, 2013 by StaffScience
The human lower jaw found in a cave near Balanica, Serbia. (Mirjana Roksandic)A nearly 400,000 year old human fossil discovered in a Serbian cave is helping scientists shed new light on human evolution.Winnipeg, MB – A fossil fragment of a human lower jaw recovered from a Serbian cave is the oldest human ancestor found in this part of Europe. The newly obtained radiometric date of the fossil was published today in PLOS ONE by William Jack Rink, McMaster University, Canada, and the international team under the direction of Dušan Mihailović, University of Belgrade, Serbia, and Mirjana Roksandic, University of Winnipeg, Canada.“The fossil was found to be at least 397,000 years old and possibly older than 525,000 years old,” explained Rink. “We used three independent techniques (electron spin resonance, uranium series isotopic analysis and infrared luminescence dating) which had remarkably consistent results reinforcing our conclusion. This established the mandible as the oldest easternmost European fossil of its kind.”“During this time, humans in Western Europe started to develop Neanderthal traits, which is lacking in this specimen,” explained Roksandic. ”Scientists now think the evolution of Neanderthal traits was strongly influenced by periodic isolation caused by episodic formation of glaciers. On the other hand, humans in southeastern Europe were never geographically isolated from Asia and Africa by glaciers and accordingly, this resulted in different evolutionary forces acting on early human populations in this region. The Balkan Peninsula could have belonged to the postulated core area from which human populations repopulated Europe after the glaciers receded. The status of this specimen as Homo erectus s.l. fits well with this explanation.”“Southeastern Europe is very important in understanding human evolution,” expressed Mihailović. “Well dated human fossils from this time period are rare, and one from this part of the world is exceptional. The date opens a new and exciting frontier in research. This study confirms the importance of southeast Europe as a ‘gate to the continent’ and one of the three main areas where humans, plants and animals sought refuge during glaciations in prehistoric times. This inspires us to continue to dig.”This find is a result of an international – interdisciplinary collaboration of anthropologists, archeologists, physicists and earth scientists – from Serbia, Canada, England and France. The site has been excavated by the University of Belgrade since 2004 funded by the Serbian Ministry of Culture, and since 2010 hosts an International field-school in Paleoanthropology and Paleolithic Archaeology jointly with The University of Winnipeg. Read the entire article...

South-eastern Europe to harmonise its science policy, innovation

Mićo Tatalović

Science ministries in south-east Europe (SEE) are ushering in an era of greater collaborative research in the region, aiming to harmonise their policies and share their research infrastructure. The hope is that this will help improve their competitiveness with richer counterparts in the EU and further afield.Ministers and officials from 11 countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Turkey – signed a joint declaration on Friday in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, outlining new avenues for better collaboration in five areas: infrastructure, policy, research statistics, research networking and science journalism.‘The European Research Area is one big sea, an ocean, from our perspective’Seven of these same countries will also soon establish a regional science strategy, drafted by the World Bank, with the help of working groups from the countries. The new strategy will have the goal of creating two separate funds: one for research excellence and one for innovation. Centres of excellence, a technology transfer facility and a body to put the strategy into practice would also be set up Read the entire article...

Mammoth field found at Serbia coal mine 'great find for Ice Age knowledge'

Mammoth field found at Serbia coal mine 'great find for Ice Age knowledge'

Archaeologists say bones of five woolly mammoths at Kostolac coal pit may reveal more about Balkans several millennia agoA mammoth recovered from the 'mass grave' at the Kostolac open-pit coal mine about 50 miles east of Belgrade. Photograph: Marko Drobnjakovic/APAssociated PressFArchaeologists have unearthed at least five mammoths at a site in Serbia. The discovery last week at Kostolac coal mine, east of the Serbian capital of Belgrade, is the first of its kind in the region and could offer important insights into how the ice age affected the area now known as the Balkans. Miomir Korac, of Serbia's Archaeology Institute, said: "There are millions of mammoth fragments in the world, but they are rarely so accessible for exploration."Read more...

Serbia: ancient tombs discovered from 2,500 years ago

BELGRADE, JUNE 12 - The skeletel remains of ancient warriors with spears and daggers have been uncovered in an archeological site during the construction of the Corridor 10 highway project in south-east Serbia.According to experts the remains date back 2,500 years and were found in the ancient district of Pirot named Suburbium where the ancient Roman road, Via Militaris, headed to what is now the border of modern day Bulgaria.''We have found three skeletal remains of warriors with spears, daggers and bronze ornaments, and decorations of various kinds,'' said Mirjana Blagojevic, archeologist from Serbia's institute for the protection of cultural patrimony.Predrag Pejic, archeologist from the Ponisavlje Museum of Pirot, said this was a very important discovery. Read the rest of the article...