Tooth fossils found in Daoxian county in central China's Hunan Province indicate the early form of modern Homo sapiens appeared in the region more than 80,000 years ago.
The 47 fossils, dating back 80,000 to 120,000 years, are believed to be the oldest remains of a completely modern form of human in east Asia, scientists said on Thursday.
During studies carried out by Chinese and foreign institutes since 2010, researchers found similarities between the fossils and the teeth of modern Homo sapiens.
But, they are remarkably smaller than the teeth of humans from the mid to late Pleistocene era, which indicates that they belong to much earlier humans.
The scientists used radioactive dating techniques to determine the fossils' approximate age.
Previous studies had indicated that humans with modern features appeared in west Asia and Europe as early as about 50,000 years ago.
Remains of Homo sapiens in the Asia-Pacific region dating back over 45,000 years and in good condition are very rare.
The latest finding provides more evidence of the earliest presence of modern humans in the region, scientists said.
The research results were published in Thursday's edition of Nature, the science journal.
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