Before Us

Fossil and genetic evidence shows that eastern Asia was a hotspot of diversity for the genus Homo during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Homo erectus, Denisovans (Homo longi and Homo juluensis) / Neanderthals, Homo floresiensis, and Homo Luzonensis were all present at one point or another. But when did modern humans arrive from Africa? 

In this episode, we talk to Fabrice Demeter about excavations at Tam Pa Ling cave in Laos, where his team has uncovered a rich fossil record documenting some of the earliest known modern humans in Southeast Asia. These discoveries place modern humans in the region as early as 86,000 years ago, with further evidence of their presence until around 54,000 years ago. Yet these early arrivals may have been part of a dispersal that ultimately failed, leaving little, if any, genetic trace in present-day populations.

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Key People

Dr. Fabrice Demeter

Key Places

Tam Pa Ling

Tam Hang

Tam Ngu Hao 2

Key Species

Homo sapiens

Homo erectus

Denisovans

• Homo juluensis
• Homo longi

Further Reading

Demeter, Fabrice, Clément Zanolli, Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Philippe Duringer, Mike W. Morley, Frido Welker et al. "A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite chain of northern Laos." Nature communications 13, no. 1 (2022): 2557.

Demeter, Fabrice, Laura Shackelford, Kira Westaway, Lani Barnes, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Jean Dumoncel et al. "Early modern humans from Tam Pà Ling, Laos: fossil review and perspectives." Current Anthropology 58, no. S17 (2017): S527-S538.

Demeter, Fabrice, Laura Shackelford, Kira Westaway, Philippe Duringer, Anne-Marie Bacon, Jean-Luc Ponche, Xiujie Wu et al. "Early modern humans and morphological variation in Southeast Asia: fossil evidence from Tam Pa Ling, Laos." PLoS One 10, no. 4 (2015): e0121193.

Freidline, Sarah E., Kira E. Westaway, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Mike W. Morley, Vito C. Hernandez et al. "Early presence of Homo sapiens in southeast Asia by 86–68 kyr at Tam Pà Ling, Northern Laos." Nature communications 14, no. 1 (2023): 3193.

Milano, Stefania, Fabrice Demeter, Jean-Jacques Hublin, Philippe Duringer, Elise Patole-Edoumba, Jean-Luc Ponche, Laura Shackelford et al. "Environmental conditions framing the first evidence of modern humans at Tam Pà Ling, Laos: A stable isotope record from terrestrial gastropod carbonates." Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 511 (2018): 352-363.

Shackelford, Laura, Fabrice Demeter, Kira Westaway, Philippe Duringer, Jean-Luc Ponche, Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, Jian-Xin Zhao et al. "Additional evidence for early modern human morphological diversity in Southeast Asia at Tam Pa Ling, Laos." Quaternary International 466 (2018): 93-106. 

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Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

Have a question or comment? 

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Before Us Kids!

If you or your kids want to learn more about Denisvans then check out "Our faceless ancestors no more." This fun-filled, kid-friendly episode explores the Denisovans and the discovery that finally put a face to the name. Click here for a direct link.

More information about Before Us Kids! From the creators of the Before Us podcast comes an exciting new adventure: Before Us Kids! This brand-new, fun, and engaging podcast is co-hosted by kids, for kids, and takes young listeners on a journey through deep time to discover the lives of the people who came before us. Each episode brings the past to life with fascinating stories, interesting facts, and lively--sometimes chaotic--conversations that spark curiosity and imagination. Whether it's exploring ancient civilizations, uncovering everyday life in the distant past, or diving into the big questions about human evolution, Before Us Kids! makes our past come alive in a way that's entertaining and easy to understand. Before Us Kids! is perfect for curious minds of all ages. 

Webpage | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

Further Reading

Bae, Christopher. The Paleoanthropology of Eastern Asia. (2024). University of Hawaii Press

Rao, H., Xing, S., Ruan, Q. et al. Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10976-9 

Ruan, Q., Li, H., Xing, S. et al. Denisovans from southwestern China and their subsistence strategies. Nature (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10997-4 

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

Asia plays a central role in the story of human evolution and recent cutting-edge research shows that eastern Asia was home to a variety of archaic human species that were still present by the time modern humans arrived during the late Pleistocene. In this episode, Prof. Christopher Bae leads us on a fascinating journey of the paleoanthropology and archaeology of eastern Asia to understand the complex biogeographic landscape that greeted those earliest modern humans. 

**Please do not forget to rate and review the show**

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Key People

Prof. Christopher Bae

Key Places

Xujiayao

Xujiang

Harbin

Denisova Cave

Huanglong (Hualongdong) Cave

Key Species

Homo erectus

Denisovans

• Homo juluensis
• Homo longi

Further Reading

Bae, Christopher. The Paleoanthropology of Eastern Asia. (2024). University of Hawaii Press

Bae, Christopher J., and Xiujie Wu. "Making sense of eastern Asian Late Quaternary hominin variability." nature communications 15, no. 1 (2024): 9479.

Feng, Xiaobo, et al. "The phylogenetic position of the Yunxian cranium elucidates the origin of Homo longi and the Denisovans." Science 389.6767 (2025): 1320-1324.

Fu, Qiaomei, Peng Cao, Qingyan Dai, E. Andrew Bennett, Xiaotian Feng, Melinda A. Yang, Wanjing Ping, Svante Pääbo, and Qiang Ji. "Denisovan mitochondrial DNA from dental calculus of the> 146,000-year-old Harbin cranium." Cell 188, no. 15 (2025): 3919-3926.

Rao, H., Xing, S., Ruan, Q., Bai, F., Zhao, Y., Wu, Z., Tang, S., Andrew Bennett, E., Feng, X., Lin, S. and Shao, Q., 2026. Ancient proteins identify various Denisovan remains from Southwest China. Nature, pp.1-7

Tsutaya, Takumi, Rikai Sawafuji, Alberto J. Taurozzi, Zandra Fagernäs, Ioannis Patramanis, Gaudry Troché, Meaghan Mackie et al. "A male Denisovan mandible from Pleistocene Taiwan." Science 388, no. 6743 (2025): 176-180.

Yang, Shi-Xia, María Martinón-Torres, and Michael Petraglia. "Palaeoanthropological evidence from China is changing the picture of hominin evolutionary history." Nature Ecology & Evolution 10.4 (2026): 634-640.

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

As modern humans spread across the world along coastlines and waterways during the Late Pleistocene, they encountered a remarkable variety of coastal environments, each with its own resources and challenges. In this episode, we explore one of the seemingly least hospitable coastal environments: maritime deserts. We discuss Boodie Cave on Barrow Island, off Australia’s northwest coast, with Tiina Manne from the University of Queensland to discover how people adapted their knowledge to this demanding environment and thrived there for tens of thousands of years.

**Please do not forget to rate and review the show!**

Have a question or comment? 

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Key People

Tiina Manne

Key Places

Boodie Cave

Barrow Island

Further Reading

Ward, Ingrid, et al. "50,000 years of archaeological site stratigraphy and micromorphology in Boodie Cave, Barrow Island, Western Australia." Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 15 (2017): 344-369. 

Skippington, Jane, Tiina Manne, and Peter Veth. "Isotopic indications of late Pleistocene and Holocene paleoenvironmental changes at Boodie Cave archaeological site, Barrow Island, Western Australia." Molecules 26.9 (2021): 2582. 

Veth, Peter, et al. "Early human occupation of a maritime desert, Barrow Island, North-West Australia." Quaternary Science Reviews 168 (2017): 19-29. 

Veth, Peter, Ingrid Ward, and Tiina Manne. "Coastal feasts: a Pleistocene antiquity for resource abundance in the maritime deserts of north west Australia?." The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 12.1 (2017): 8-23. 

Veth, Peter, et al. "The archaeology of Montebello Islands, north-west Australia: late Quaternary foragers on an arid coastline." (2007). 

Veth, Peter, Kane Ditchfield, and Fiona Hook. "Maritime deserts of the Australian northwest." Australian Archaeology 79.1 (2014): 156-166. 

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

Click here to send us a message!

Have a question or comment? 

Email: [email protected]

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeforeUsMedia/

Or click “Send us a message!” at the top of this page.

Before Us Kids! From the creators of the Before Us podcast comes an exciting new adventure: Before Us Kids! This brand-new, fun, and engaging podcast is co-hosted by kids, for kids, and takes young listeners on a journey through deep time to discover the lives of the people who came before us. Each episode brings the past to life with fascinating stories, interesting facts, and lively--sometimes chaotic--conversations that spark curiosity and imagination. Whether it's exploring ancient civilizations, uncovering everyday life in the distant past, or diving into the big questions about human evolution, Before Us Kids! makes our past come alive in a way that's entertaining and easy to understand. Before Us Kids! is perfect for curious minds of all ages. 

Webpage | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music

Further Reading

Nunn, Patrick. Whispers from Celtic seas: the true meanings of ancient stories from Northwest Europe. Reaktion Books, Limited, 2026.

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

As modern humans spread across the world at the end of the Pleistocene, they learned to survive in a remarkable range of environments. How did those hunter-gatherers preserve their knowledge and pass it on from one generation to the next? In this episode, Helen and Erich speak with Patrick Nunn to explore the role of oral history, myths, and storytelling in the preservation of knowledge among preliterate societies.  Welcome back to a new season of Before Us! 

**Please do not forget to rate and review the show!**

Have a question or comment? 

Email: [email protected]

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BeforeUsMedia/

Or click “Send us a message!” at the top of this page.

Key People

Patrick Nunn

Key Places

Backstairs Passage

Pentecost Island, Vanuatu

Further Reading

Nunn, Patrick. Whispers from Celtic seas: the true meanings of ancient stories from Northwest Europe. Reaktion Books, Limited, 2026.

Nunn, Patrick D., et al. "Calibrating Holocene human–environment interactions using ancient narratives: The example of Ngurunderi in South Australia." Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology 20.3 (2025): 563-587.

Nunn, Patrick. Worlds in shadow: Submerged lands in science, memory and myth. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021.

Nunn, Patrick. The edge of memory: ancient stories, oral tradition and the post-glacial world. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018.

Walshe, Rory A., and Patrick D. Nunn. "Integration of indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: A case study from Baie Martelli, Pentecost Island, Vanuatu." International Journal of Disaster Risk Science 3.4 (2012): 185-194.

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

A new season of Before Us premieres Tuesday, September 29, 2026! Join us as we  as we explore the remarkable human story behind the world we know today. 

We are continuing to explore humanity’s enduring relationship with aquatic resources and how coastlines and waterways helped shape our remarkable expansion worldwide. This season, we follow the movement of modern humans through Southeast and East Asia, around the North Pacific Rim, and into North and South America, uncovering the epic story of the Peopling of the Americas. 

This season will be bigger and more amazing than ever before. We've lined up leading scientists and communities from around the world to provide the most current insights on archaeology, genetics, linguistics, mythology, dog domestication, skin-boat technology, and so more. 

If you enjoy this show then don’t forget to rate and review us! Have a question? Send us an email at [email protected]  

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

Imagine taking a walk with Columbian mammoths, giant sloths, lions, sabre-tooth tigers, camels and loads of other animals? Sounds crazy, right! Yet it actually happened 20,000 years ago and in this episode Dr. Erich talk to Noah and Colton about some seriously cool discoveries at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. 

Want to learn more? Check out the Before Us Kids Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/BeforeUsKids) where we have bonus episodes that discuss the science behind the stories and other exclusive content such as the 10-part series A Totally Ridiculous, Mostly Serious, Always Awesome Guide to Surviving the Ice Age (but also Zombies and the Weirdness of Life in General). There’s even a place where kids can ask questions. It’s super cool. 

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

In this hair-larious episode, Dr. Erich chats with Jake and Colton all about red hair, genetics, and some super cool things we might’ve gotten from our ancient cousins—the Neanderthals! 

Want to learn more? Check out the Before Us Kids Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/BeforeUsKids) where we have bonus episodes that discuss the science behind the stories and other exclusive content such as the 10-part series A Totally Ridiculous, Mostly Serious, Always Awesome Guide to Surviving the Ice Age (but also Zombies and the Weirdness of Life in General). There’s even a place where kids can ask questions. It’s super cool. 

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.

In this episode, Dr. Erich and Colton dive into a wild idea—bringing back the woolly mammoth! How are scientists doing it? Believe it or not…some scientists think it starts with woolly mice!  Yep, you heard that right. WOOLLY MICE! Join us for a super fun and funny chat about some very fluffy science. You won’t want to miss this one! 

Want to learn more? Check out the Before Us Kids Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/BeforeUsKids) where we have bonus episodes that discuss the science behind the stories and other exclusive content such as the 10-part series A Totally Ridiculous, Mostly Serious, Always Awesome Guide to Surviving the Ice Age (but also Zombies and the Weirdness of Life in General). There’s even a place where kids can ask questions. It’s super cool.

Click here to send us a message!

Before Us is produced by Worlds Before LLC. Erich Fisher writes and produces each episode and handles sound design and editing. Helen Farr co-hosts and contributes with writing and producing. Ian Laurence composed the theme song. The voices of our hosts and guests are real and have not been generated by AI.