Invitation to lecture “The Discovery of the Homo luzonensis: A New Hominid Species Found in the Philippines,” by Prof. Armand Mijares (University of the Philippines). This discovery has been referred to as one of the most important scientific discoveries in recent years and has been featured in the National Geographic, Nature, and major news outlets internationally.

The new species Homo luzonensis is described from an assemblage of fossil bones and teeth that belonged to at least three different individuals discovered during the excavations carried out in Callao Cave in 2007, 2011, and 2015. These fossils come from a sedimentary level located nearly three meters below the current surface of the cave floor, and two of these have been dated directly to 50,000 and 67,000 years by the Uranium series analysis. These are the earliest known human remains in the Philippines, preceding the first Homo sapiens dated to 30,000 to 40,000 years ago that were discovered on Palawan Island, southwest of the archipelago.

Comparative analyses undertaken on the fossils, using 3D imaging methods and geometric morphometrics, show that the species Homo luzonensis has very primitive elements or characters, resembling Australopithecus, and others very modern, close to our own species Homo sapiens. This singular combination of characters clearly distinguishes it from other representatives of the genus Homo, especially the contemporary species known in Southeast Asia, such as Homo sapiens and Homo floresiensis.

This lecture marks the launching of the project Advancing Philippine Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU) between HU and the Philippine Embassy in Germany.

Date

Monday, July 29 2019, 6 pm to 8 pm

Venue

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Festsaal Luisenstraße 56, 10117 Berlin

Please note: Registration for the event is not necessary, but entry to the hall is limited to 100 people.

About the speaker

Armand Salvador B. Mijares has a PhD in Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology from the Australian National University. He is an Associate Professor and UP Scientist 1 of the Archaeological Studies Program (ASP), University of the Philippines. He served as Director of ASP from 2012-2016. His research interest is on Pleistocene Archaeology, lithic usewear analysis, geoarchaeology, and cave archaeology. He is the project head and lead archaeologist of the “Going Deep in Time: The Callao Cave Archaeological Project” that discovered the new hominin species Homo luzonensis.

About Advancing Philippine Studies at HU

Advancing Philippine Studies at HU aims to advance and promote Philippine and Filipino studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and in Germany by developing academic programs, projects, and/or activities related to the culture, society, and history of the Philippines and the Filipino people. It is funded by a donation offered to the University through the Office of Senator Loren Legarda and the Philippine Embassy in Berlin. The project is implemented with full academic, strategic, and operational control by the University.

This event is supported by the Philippine Embassy in Germany, the University of the Philippines Alumni Association-Germany e.V., and the Philippine Studies Series Berlin.

Contact

Dr. Rosa Cordillera A. Castillo
Institute for Asian and African Studies
Southeast Asian Studies
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin

Phone: +49 30 2093-66030
rosa.castillo@hu-berlin.de