The Arrival of Humans in Laos 86,000 Years Ago and the Eruption of Mount Toba

via Kompas, 25 June 2023: Connecting the recent discovery of ~86,000 year old human remain in Laos with the Toba Eruption.

Archaeologists have found two bone fragments at the bottom of a cave in northern Laos dating back 86,000 years, long before the main migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa. These findings also show that modern humans had reached Southeast Asia when the Toba volcano erupted violently 74,000 years ago.

Current genetic and fossil evidence indicates that all modern humans (Homo sapiens) descend from ancestors that appeared in Africa around 300,000 years ago. However, the timing and route of human dispersal out of Africa is still being debated.

There are at least two models that scientists often debate: the initial dispersal during the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 period around 130,000–80,000 years ago and the subsequent dispersal that occurred post-MIS 5. However, DNA data is more supportive the idea that modern humans only came out post-MIS 5.

Source: The Arrival of Humans in Laos 86,000 Years Ago and the Eruption of Mount Toba – Kompas.id