Indonesia
Ancient amputations tell remarkable stories of survival and care
A 33,000-year-old case of an amputated leg prompts comparisons to earlier Neandertal instances of amputation.
![Skull of the Shanidar 1 individual with portions of the upper body skeleton visible, on a blue velvet table](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/09/shanidar-1-skull-and-skeleton-iraq-national-museum-osama-shukir-muhammed-amin-wikipedia-1.jpg)
Fossil profile: Sangiran 31 and the exceptionally thick skulls of Homo erectus
One of the thickest skulls in the hominin fossil record gives insight about the variation in this ancient species.
![Sangiran 31 partial cranium with information](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/02/sangiran-31-calvaria-artcard-2021.png)
Part of a Denisovan mtDNA resides in the nuclear genomes of many living people
A paper last week by Robert Bücking and coworkers trawled through the recently-sequenced Indonesian Genome Diversity Project dataset looking for snippets of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) that have been inserted into the nuclear genome. These snippets, called “NUMTs”, arise every so often as a result of DNA transfer from the mitochondrion
![A reproduction of the Denisova 3 finger bone sits on a chalk outline of a hand](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/01/denisova-finger-bone.jpg)
Lida Ajer, early modern human remains in island Southeast Asia
A site first investigated by Eugene Dubois is rediscovered by Kira Westaway and collaborators.
![A cave entrance with two people, one with headlight](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/01/lida-ajer-julien-louys-conversation.jpg)
A look at the intentional markings of Homo erectus
Looking at a 2014 paper by Josephine Joordens and coworkers, which describes zig-zag markings on a shell from Trinil, Indonesia. This shell may have been intentionally marked by Homo erectus.
![Clam shell with zigzag markings in a museum exhibit](/content/images/size/w1460/2023/06/trinil-pseudodon-shell-engraved-markings-naturalis-henk-caspers-wikimedia-cc-by-sa.jpg)
A new study of old shells shows shoreline resource use by Homo erectus
Notes on a study by José Joordens and coworkers on the Trinil collection associated with Eugene Dubois' original Pithecanthropus dig
![A photo from a distance showing large river terrace excavation and river flowing in front.](/content/images/size/w1460/2022/11/trinil-historic-photo-colorized.jpg)