Extended Data Figure 8: The fossil faunal teeth from Lida Ajer sampled for U-series dating.
From: An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000–63,000 years ago
a, 7/LA/5/08, a molar of siamang gibbon sp., sampled during our excavations. b, Sample 12/LA/5/08, a premolar of Pongo sp., sampled during our excavations. c, 13/LA/5/08, a molar of Pongo sp., sampled during our excavations. d, Dubois 9967A, a Pongo sp. molar from Dubois’s original excavation—borrowed from the Naturalis Museum in the Netherlands. e–h, U-series profiling tracks on the 4 fossil teeth (7-, 12-, 13-, and 21/LA/5/08). i, Example of the best fit D–A (diffusion–absorption model) date profile for sample 13/LA/5/08 (with 4/8 = 1.066, t′ = 1.0) demonstrating that the age estimate fits the model at around 55 kyr. The possibility of delayed uptake of uranium and the absence of evidence for uranium leaching means that this should be treated as a minimum age. The U-series profiles from other teeth did not fit well with the predictions of the D–A model owing to complex U-uptake (and potentially U-loss) processes in the sampled teeth.
