A group of researchers announced Wednesday they have discovered an ancient species in the Philippines related to humans.
“For the first time, the Philippines is part of the evolutionary debate,” said Armand Mijares, an archaeologist at the University of the Philippines, Diliman in Quezon City, who led the group of archaeologists that discovered the fossils which date back at least 50,000 years. “We can see now that the islands are a playground of human evolution and natural selection.”
The newly discovered species was named Homo luzonensis after the island Luzon in the Philippines, where the bones were discovered. Homo luzonensis is an extinct member of the homo genus, which includes the human species.
The discovery of the bones started back in 2007, when archaeologist Philip Piper began examining bones from a cave on the island at the suggestion of Mijares.
“On the second day I was working through them, I pulled out a human metatarsal,” Piper told the Washington Post.
In 2011, an excavation of a cave on the island began, which led to the discovery of more bones.
Scientists recognize upwards of 20 different species of human-related beings.
