Science 20,000-year-old human fossils from Japan turn out to be bear bones

The Ushikawa remains were found in 1957 at a quarry in the Ushikawa-cho district of Toyohashi. They were initially pronounced as dating to the Middle Pleistocene (781,000 to 126,000 years ago) and recorded as such in textbooks on the history of Japan. But by the 1980s, researchers had become sceptical about the age of the Ushikawa remains and whether they were even human. With the help of Aiko Saso's assistant professor of anthropology at Niigata University of Health and Welfare, the research team subjected the fossils to microscopic analysis and CT scanning. Fragments formerly believed to be pieces of the humerus and femur were compared with bones from 24 black and brown bears. Examining the depth of a hollow in the femoral head, the shape of the epiphysis, and other elements, the team concluded that they are "all bear remains."

Click to expand...