© Griffith University
Dated to between 26,000 to 22,000 years ago, this artifact, made from the bone of a bear cuscus, was likely worn as a pendant on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where it was found.
Dated to between 26,000 to 22,000 years ago, this artifact, made from the bone of a bear cuscus, was likely worn as a pendant on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi where it was found.
The artifacts, which include pendants and beads made from the bones of "pig-deer" and monkey-like marsupials, date back at least 22,000 years, researchers report in a new study.
Archaeologists discovered the artifacts in Wallacea, a 1,000-mile-wide (1,600 kilometers) zone of mainly Indonesian islands separating Southeast Asia from Australia, and the items are now shedding light on the colonization of this area and nearby Australia. Previous research found that modern humans reached Wallacea by about 47,000 years ago.
