A piece of jawbone excavated² from a prehistoric³（史前的） cave in England is the earliest evidence for modern humans in Europe, according to an international team of scientists. The bone first was believed to be about 35,000 years old, but the new research study shows it to be significantly older -- between 41,000 and 44,000 years old, according to the findings that will be published in the journal Nature. The new dating of the bone is expected to help scientists pin down how quickly the modern humans spread across Europe during the last Ice Age. It also helps confirm the much-debated theory that early humans coexisted with Neanderthals. Beth Shapiro, the Shaffer Associate Professor of Biology at Penn State University and a member of the research team, explained that the fragment of maxilla（上颌骨） -- the upper jaw¹ -- containing three teeth was unearthed⁴ in 1927 in a prehistoric limestone⁵ cave called Kent's Cavern⁶ in southwestern England. Records from the original excavations⁸, undertaken by the Torquay Natural History Society located in Devon, England, indicate that the jawbone was discovered 10 feet 6 inches beneath the surface and was sealed by stalagmite（石笋） deposits. "In 1989, scientists at Oxford⁹ University dated the bone as being about 35,000 years old. However, doubts were later raised about the reliability¹⁰ of the date because traces of modern glue, which was used to conserve¹¹ the bone after discovery, were found on the surface," Shapiro said. "We knew we were going to have to do additional testing to re-date the bone." Because the remaining uncontaminated area of bone was deemed too small to re-date, the research team searched through the excavation⁷ archives and collections in the Torquay Museum to obtain samples of other animal bones from recorded depths both above and below the spot where the maxilla was found.

Members of the research team then obtained radiocarbon dates for the bones of wolf, deer, cave bear, and woolly rhinoceros¹², all of which were found close to the maxilla, and all of which could be dated at between 50,000 and 26,000 years old. Using a Bayesian statistical-modelling method, the scientists then were able to calculate an age for the maxilla. The new date indicates that the bone is between 41,000 and 44,000 years old.

Tom Higham, Deputy Director of Oxford University's Radiocarbon Accelerator Unit and a member of the research team, said "Radiocarbon dating of ancient bones is very difficult to do. Because the initial date from this fragment of jawbone was affected¹³ by traces of modern glue, the initial measurement made in 1989 was too young. The new dating evidence we have obtained allows us, for the first time, to pinpoint¹⁴ the real age of this key specimen¹⁵. We believe this piece of jawbone is the earliest direct evidence we have of modern humans in northwestern Europe."

Shapiro explained that the new and more-accurate date is especially important because it provides clearer evidence about the coexistence of Neanderthals and anatomically（结构上） modern humans. "If the jawbone is, in fact, 41,000 to 44,000 years old, that means it was from a time when Neanderthals were still present in Europe, so we first had to confirm that the bone was from an anatomically modern human, and not a Neanderthal," Shapiro said. Shapiro and her team first tried to extract mitochondrial DNA¹⁶ from one of the teeth, but there were insufficient¹⁷ amounts for valid¹⁸ DNA sequencing. Eventually, team members were able to use a virtual three-dimensional model based on a CT scan of the jawbone to carry out a detailed¹⁹ analysis of the fossil. They compared the external and internal shapes of the teeth with those of modern human and Neanderthal fossils from a number of different sites. They found early modern human characteristics in all but three of the 16 dental characteristics.