On 24 February, archaeologists announced the discovery of the oldest human skeleton ever found in Thailand, dating back more than 29,000 years. The remains, belonging to a child, were found in Din Cave, a site known for its prehistoric rock paintings.
The Fine Arts Department (FAD) led the excavation in Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park and confirmed that the child’s burial was intentional. The skeleton was found in Chamber 3, lying on its back with the head pointing southwest. Stones surrounded the body, and the position of the legs suggests it may have been wrapped or tied before burial. The bones, found two meters below the cave floor, had a reddish-brown color with traces of ash.
Scientists estimate the child was between 6 and 8 years old at the time of death. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal and shell samples from the cave, conducted by BETA ANALYTIC Inc. in the United States, showed that the layers above the skeleton date between 11,000 and 29,000 years ago, meaning the skeleton is even older.
During the late Pleistocene era, when the child lived, sea levels were lower, and much of Southeast Asia formed a single landmass called Sundaland. The discovery provides evidence of human life in this now-submerged region.
Din Cave shows a long history of human occupation. The lower layers, where the skeleton was found, belong to hunter-gatherers. In the upper layers, archaeologists found pottery and polished tools, showing that later groups lived there as well.
But this is not the oldest skeleton found in the region. In 2023, archaeologists uncovered 86,000-year-old human bone fragments in Tam Pà Ling Cave, in northern Laos. These remains, including a skull and shin bone, are the oldest known evidence of Homo sapiens, the species to which all modern human beings belong, in Southeast Asia.
Scientists believe the bones were washed into Tam Pà Ling Cave by a monsoon, which likely carried them from a different location before they settled in the cave’s sediment layers.
Despite being fragmented, the bones were carefully analyzed and compared to those of other ancient human species. The results showed that they closely resemble Homo sapiens, rather than earlier human relatives like Homo erectus, Neanderthals, or Denisovans.
This finding suggests that modern humans reached Southeast Asia at least 86,000 years ago, far earlier than previously confirmed. However, the lack of additional remains from this period raises questions about what happened to these early populations.
Some scientists speculate that these early groups may have struggled to establish permanent settlements, possibly due to environmental changes, competition with other hominin species, or limited numbers. Their presence may have been part of an early, unsuccessful migration before later waves of Homo sapiens arrived and successfully populated the region.