Ancient bird bones redate human activity in Madagascar by 6,000 years
Analysis of bones, from what was once the world's largest bird, has revealed that humans arrived on the tropical island of Madagascar more than 6,000 years earlier than previously thought -- according to a study published in the journal Science Advances.
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Disarticulation marks on the base of the tarsometatarsus. These cut marks were made when removing the toes from the foot [Credit: ZSL] |
Previous research on lemur bones and archaeological artefacts suggested that humans first arrived in Madagascar 2,400-4,000 years ago. However, the new study provides evidence of human presence on Madagascar as far back as 10,500 years ago -- making these modified elephant bird bones the earliest known evidence of humans on the island.
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Close up of the disarticulation marks on the base of the tarsometatarsus. Here you can see the v-shaped tool mark and rough edges indicating a stone tool was used [Credit: ZSL] |
"Our research provides evidence of human activity in Madagascar more than 6,000 years earlier than previously suspected -- which demonstrates that a radically different extinction theory is required to understand the huge biodiversity loss that has occurred on the island. Humans seem to have coexisted with elephant birds and other now-extinct species for over 9,000 years, apparently with limited negative impact on biodiversity for most of this period, which offers new insights for conservation today."
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Illustration of a Vorompatra (Elephant bird) skeleton [Credit: Alain Rasolo, Wildlife Artist, Madagascar] |
The bones of the elephant birds studied by this project were originally found in 2009 in Christmas River in south-central Madagascar -- a fossil 'bone bed' containing a rich concentration of ancient animal remains. This marsh site could have been a major kill site, but further research is required to confirm.
Source: Zoological Society of London [September 12, 2018]
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