Minatogawa man, the oldest type of modern Homo sapiens in east Asia

Abstract

The skeletons of Minatogawa Man, found on Okinawa Island in 1970, have been morphologically reevaluated. The skulls of Minatogawa Man are characterized by a low and wide face with rectangular orbits, a projected glabellar region, a depressed nasal root and deep temporal fossae. In the Minatogawa and Jomon skulls the zygomatic bones protrude anteriorly and the zygomatic arches are thin and flared. The Minatogawa postcranial bones stand apart from those of the Zhoukoudian Upper Cave, Liujian, Jomon Japanese, and are close to Zhoukoudian Homo erectus, in some characteristics. Therefore Minatogawa Man should be assigned to the oldest type of Mongoloids or modern Homo sapiens in East Asia. -from Authors