Besséʼ

Excavation at Leang Panninge in 2019 showing the burial site.

Southern Sulawesi had been a centre of archaeological exploration in understanding the Toalean culture.[7][8] Research team of the Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi Archaeological Centre) led by Akin Duli from the University of Hasanuddin, Sulawesi, first explored Leang Panninge in 2015.[9][10] The excavations uncovered many animal remains and stone tools of the Toalean people, including a burial site that contained human remains of one individual.[10] The human remains were discovered after three days of excavation.[9] It was the first time a human remain is discovered that belonged to the Toalean culture.[4] The initial support from the University Sains Malaysia was soon used up, and further excavation was halted. The University of Hasanuddin provided a new fund in 2017.[9]

The inside of the grave showing position of the burial.

Duli's research team in collaboration with an international team of palaeontologists led by Adam Brumm of the Griffith University, Australia, made a comprehensive excavation and, in 2019, discovered partially intact bones of the inner ear from the human remains. The bone powder yielded sufficient DNA sample for genetic analysis. It was a lucky find because, as Brumm explained, "The humid tropics are very unforgiving on DNA preservation in ancient human bones and teeth."[2] With the help of geneticist Selina Carlhoff of the Max Planck Institute, Germany, DNA analysis was performed that showed it as belonging to a young female hunter-gatherer who was aged around 17–18 years at her time of death.[4] The study published in the August 2021 issue of Nature,[3] became the first ancient DNA of any human in Southeast Asia to be sequenced.[2]

Besséʼ was buried in a foetal position and partially covered by large cobbles. The typical burial style also provided an example of modern human evolution and cultural development in Southeast Asia.[1][12] The tightly flexed burial of Besséʼ with the legs crouched with the legs folded up to the chest was a traditional practice,[13][14] and use of cobbles to cover the corpses are marks of careful rituals in many prehistoric cultures of the region.[15][16] With cobbles all around her body and under her head, Bessé’ was also evidently buried with proper burial processions.[11]

Besséʼ's skull.

Stone tools at Besséʼ's grave. Maros point is on top inset.

The cause of Besséʼ's death is unknown with no obvious signs of injuries or infections that leave their mark in bone.[17] Stone tools (including stone arrows known as Maros points) and red ochre were found alongside her body, indicating they were buried with her, as well as the bones of animals known to be hunted. The skull was already crushed and was recovered in fragments. Using carbon-14 dating of a galip nut seed (Canarium sp.) found in her grave, she was estimated to have died 7,300 to 7,200 years ago.[18]

DNA samples were collected from the petrous part of the temporal bone (inner ear) of Besséʼ. It was the first DNA sample of prehistoric humans in Southeast Asia,[2] and it provided the first direct genetic study of the Toalean people.[19] Genomic analysis shows Besséʼ belonged to a population with a previously unknown ancestral composition. She shares about half of her genetic makeup with present-day indigenous Australians and people in New Guinea and the Western Pacific, along with a previously unknown divergent human lineage that branched off approximately 37,000 years ago (after Onge-related and Hòabìnhian-related lineages) including substantial DNA (about 2.2%) inherited from the now-extinct humans Denisovans.[18]