Archaeologists have found primitive stone tools on the Island of Sulawesi, Indonesia that date back to 1.04 to 1.48 million years.
This marks the oldest human habitation in this region.
The study, published in Nature, is predicted to solve the mystery of Homo floresiensis.
They are diminutive “hobbit” humans who lived on nearby Flores Island until about 500,000 years ago.
The ancient discovered tools were used to cut and scrap due to their sharp edges.
This suggests that early humans may have inhabited Sulawesi around the same time or even earlier than Flores.
Dr. Adam Brumm, co-lead author of the study, said: “We have long suspected that the Homo floresiensis lineage came originally from Sulawesi. This discovery adds further weight to that possibility.”
More discoveries at the Calio site found seven stones alongside animal fossils, including a jawbone of an extinct giant pig.
While there were no human remains found in the fossils, researchers believe that Homo erectus or an early relative may have made the tools.
The study sparked speculations about how the ancient humans reached the isolated islands.
Brum noted “getting to Sulawesi would not have been easy.”
Experts suggest that the discovery highlights the gaps in the understanding of how early humans migrated.
Prof. John Shea of Stony Brook University stated: “If hominins reached these islands, they might have survived briefly before going extinct,” noting that only modern humans have clear evidence of successful ocean crossings.
To learn more about this mysterious chapter of human evolution, researchers continue to search Sulawesi for hominin fossils. Brumm said: “There’s a truly fascinating story waiting to be told on that island.”