Asia's First People: The Role of East Asia in Human Evolution During the Past Half Million Years

A new statement about the importance of East Asia in our evolution is long overdue. The evolutionary development of humans between 500,000 and 20,000 years ago will be examined from archaeological, biological, faunal, ecological, environmental and migrational perspectives. We will synthesise the scattered East Asian literature, examine unpublished material in situ and conduct new fieldwork. Excavations will take place at two locations in Myanmar, the first in 50 years. Permission has already been granted by the national government and local authorities for our team to have access and to begin work.