Late Pleistocene human fossils in Japanese Archipelago

Abstract

The fossil human remains of the Japanese archipelago represent an abundant documentation, with diverse and complex origins. Essentially, populations appear to come from Southeast Asia, moving northward during phases of low sea level, during ice ages. However, part of the population would also have come from the Korean peninsula, via a almost-connected land bridge then established during the lowering of sea levels. An additional northern influence is also possible. Human bone remains were in limestone rock crevices, shelter, and caves, probably buried there. Their conservation is often delicate but informative enough to consider the Pleistocene people in Japanese Archipelago.