Mungo Man

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The Mungo Man (also known as Lake Mungo 3) was an early human inhabitant of the continent of Australia, who is believed to have lived about 40,000 years ago, during the Pleistocene epoch. His remains were discovered at Lake Mungo, New South Wales in 1974. The remains are the oldest anatomically modern human remains found in Australia to date, although his exact age is a matter of ongoing dispute. Recent controversial analysis of Mungo Man's mitochondrial DNA has also led some researchers to challenge the single-origin hypothesis of human evolution.

1 Discovery
2 Age
3 Mitochondrial DNA study
4 References

[edit] Discovery

The Mungo Man was discovered on February 26, 1974 when shifting sand dunes exposed his remains. He was found near Lake Mungo, one of several dry lakes in the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region. The body was sprinkled with red ochre, in what is the earliest incidence of such a sophisticated and artistic burial practice. This aspect of the discovery has been particularly significant to Indigenous Australians, since it indicates that certain cultural traditions have existed on the Australian continent for much longer than previously thought.

The skeleton had been somewhat poorly preserved, with substantial portions of the skull missing, and most of the bones in the limbs suffering surface damage. Some anthropologists have noted that it may not be possible to conclusively determine the gender of the remains, although they are most commonly referred to as being male. Mungo Man was buried lying on his back, with his hands interlocked over his groin. Based on evidence of osteoarthritis in the lumbar vertebrae, and severe wear on the teeth, it seems likely that Mungo Man was quite old when he died. Using the length of his limb bones, it is possible to estimate Mungo Man's height at about 170 centimetres (66.9 inches or 5 ft 7 in).

[edit] Age

The first estimate of Mungo Man's age was made in 1976, when the team of paleoanthropologists from the Australian National University (ANU) who excavated Mungo Man published their findings. They estimated that Mungo Man was between 28,000 and 32,000 years old. They did not test Mungo Man's remains directly, but rather established an estimate by stratigraphic comparison with Mungo Lady, an earlier set of partially cremated remains also found at Lake Mungo.

In 1987, an electron spin resonance test was conducted on bone fragments from Mungo Man's skeleton, which established an estimate of his age at 31,000 years, plus or minus 7,000 years. An age of about 40,000 years came to be widely accepted as accurate.

In 1999, another team from ANU arrived at a new estimate of 62,000 years, plus or minus 6,000 years. This estimate was determined by combining data from uranium-thorium dating, electron spin resonance dating and optically stimulated luminescence dating of the remains and the immediately surrounding soil. However, this estimate was very controversial. Some scientists pointed to evidence of the age of strata at the lowest level of the Lake Mungo archaeological site, which are as old as 43,000 years, to show that Mungo Man could not be older than this. However, the ANU team had dated the strata itself to be between 59,000 and 63,000 years old. Others criticised the problems with using uranium-thorium dating on tooth enamel.

In 2003, a group of scientists from several Australian universities, led by the University of Melbourne, reached a new consensus that Mungo Man is about 40,000 years old. This age largely corresponds with stratigraphic evidence, and used four different dating methods, and brought together scientists from several different universities. The age of 40,000 years is currently the most widely accepted age for the Mungo Man. The study also found that Mungo Lady was a similar age to Mungo Man, and not 30,000 years old, as previously thought. This made Mungo Lady the oldest cremated human remains yet discovered.

[edit] Mitochondrial DNA study

In a study conducted by an Australian National University graduate student, beginning in 1995, mitochondrial DNA was collected from bone fragments from Mungo Man's skeleton, and analysed. The DNA was compared with samples taken from several other Australian human skeletons, between eight and fifteen thousand years old, and samples from modern day living people.

The study determined that the Mungo Man was genetically different from modern humans, and that his mitochondrial line is now extinct. The study has been controversial because it can be interpreted to challenge the single-origin hypothesis of human evolution (the so-called "Out of Africa" theory) which posits that all humans are descended from a common ancestor who originated in Africa. Mungo Man, although being essentially anatomically identical to modern Homo sapiens, was not descended from Mitochondrial Eve, the most recent common ancestor of all humans on the matrilineal line, who lived in Africa approximately 150,000 years ago.

Some have argued that the study supports the multiregional hypothesis, which suggests that traits of modern humans evolved in several places around the world, and that gene flow created the genetic uniformity seen today, not the migration of a single population from Africa. Another possibility is that the mtDNA lineage of the Mungo Man became extinct at some time between 40,000 years BP and today. (A common misinterpretation of the Mitochondrial Eve hypothesis is that she was the only human female at her time; rather, she is the most recent common matrilineal ancestor). Still another is that the emigration of early humans from Africa took place somewhat earlier than it is generally assumed. However, the results of the study remain controversial.