"The treasure of 3 human species" in the mysterious stone cave in Central Asia

(NLDO) - An unparalleled archaeological treasure has just been found on the banks of a stream in Tajikistan, where three different human species may have once lived together.

An archaeological team searched along the Zeravshan River in Tajikistan and discovered a mysterious stone shelter that was the site of three different human species: Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans.

The mysterious rock shelter in Tajikistan is an unparalleled archaeological treasure because it contains many artifacts from three different human species, created when they lived together - Illustration AI: ANH THU

Homo sapiens is the "wise man" or "modern man", that is, us. Meanwhile, the other two human species are cousins of the same genus Homo (Human), which became extinct about 30,000-40,000 years ago.

For a long time, some DNA evidence within ourselves has shown that these three human species have had periods of coexistence and interbreeding with each other.

Some rare archaeological evidence also supports this, including caves containing remains of two of these three human species and skeletons with clear hybrid characteristics between the two species.

Therefore, the mysterious stone cave that scientists have just found next to a stream in the Zeravshan river system in Tajikistan is very special because it contains the remains of all three species mentioned above.

Some stone tools excavated from the stone quarry - Photo: HEBREW UNIVERSITY

This site, named Soii Havzak, has been excavated since 2023. So far, archaeologists have collected countless stone tools, animal bones... indicating the living activities of ancient humans.

According to an article published in the journal Antiquity , preliminary examination results show that this rock shelter was chosen by humans as a shelter 150,000 years ago and many different groups of people used it for 130,000 years.

Not only does it contain traces of three different human species, evidence also shows that they lived together at some point.

"We hope that ongoing research at the site will reveal new insights into how different groups of people may have interacted in this area," Dr. Yossi Zaidner from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel told Live Science.

Dr. Zaidner also explained that this rock shelter is located on a route called the Inner Asian Mountain Corridor (IAMC) of Central Asia, where the three aforementioned human species chose as a common migration route and also where they met and interacted.

The ancients were not the only individuals who chose this area to pass through.

This river valley later became part of the famous Silk Road, connecting many civilizations from China to the Roman Empire through vibrant trade.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/kho-bau-3-loai-nguoi-trong-ham-da-bi-an-o-trung-a-196241113095456302.htm