The Archaeological Department of Sri Lanka announced on Wednesday that the examination of a recently discovered prehistoric man’s skeleton suggests it is approximately 37,000 years old. Senarath Dissanayaka, the Director General of the Archaeological Department, informed Xinhua that the skeleton of the Balangoda human ancestor, unearthed in the underground Fa-Hien cave in western Sri Lanka, will be sent to the United States for carbon dating.

Dissanayake stated, “The evidence gathered thus far has confirmed that the skeleton dates back to 37,000 years ago.” Additionally, he revealed that a team of British experts has been invited to Sri Lanka to examine the skeleton further.

During the excavation, significant discoveries were made regarding the Balangoda man, including insights into his diet, rituals, and the stone tools he crafted. Sri Lankan archaeologists also uncovered ornaments made of beads and weapons crafted from animal bones.

According to the Archaeological Department, this marks the first time a complete human skeleton of such antiquity has been found. The excavation of the cave, named after the Chinese Buddhist monk Fa-Hien, who is believed to have visited Sri Lanka between 399 and 412 to acquire Buddhist scriptures, commenced after Pleistocene human skeletal remains were discovered at the site in 1986.

The Fa-Hien cave has provided some of the earliest evidence of anatomically modern humans in South Asia. Through excavations in Bulathsinhala, located 60 km from the capital city Colombo, it has been confirmed that Homo sapiens settled in Sri Lanka 40,000 years ago.

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