Additional evidence for early modern human morphological diversity in Southeast Asia at Tam Pa Ling, Laos

The TPL3 mandible has discrete traits similar to eastern Asian early modern humans, including a well-developed chin and a lack of lateral corporal robusticity. It does, however, retain a relatively broad anterior mandibular arch that is more commonly associated with archaic populations. In this way, it is similar to the TPL2 mandible as well as other similarly-aged fossils from the region that show a mixture of archaic and derived traits. The combined quartz SG-OSL and feldspar pIR-IRSL techniques provide an age range of 70 ± 8-48 ± 5 ka for the depositional age of the layer containing the TPL3 mandible. This upper age estimate is ∼20 ka older than the depositional ages for the TPL1 and 2 fossils, extending the upper limit for the currently excavated sedimentary and associated fossil evidence.