Peștera cu Oase (Romanian pronunciation: [ˈpeʃtera ku ˈo̯ase], meaning "The Cave with Bones") is a system of 12 karstic galleries and chambers located near the city Anina, in the Caraș-Severin county, southwestern Romania, where some of the oldest European early modern human (EEMH) remains, between 42,000 and 37,000 years old, have been found.

While Oase 1 lower jaw is fully mature, the facial skeleton is that of a mid-second-decade adolescent, therefore corresponding to a second individual, designated as Oase 2. Further analyses have revealed that the left temporal bone represents a third individual, assessed as an adolescent versus mature female, designated as Oase 3. However, additional finds and work have shown that the temporal bone derives from the same cranium as the Oase 2 facial and parietal bones. The lack of archaeological signs such as torches, charcoal, or tools could suggest that the human remains may have washed into the cave through fissures. The Oase 2 and Oase 3 confirm a pattern already known from the probably contemporaneous Oase 1 mandible, indicating a mixture of archaic, early modern human, and Neanderthal morphological features. Thus, the specimens exhibit a suite of derived "modern human" features like a projecting chin, no brow ridge, and a high and rounded brain case. Yet, these features are associated with several archaic aspects of the cranium and dentition that place them outside the range of variation for modern humans, like a large face, a large crest of bone behind the ear, and big teeth that get even larger toward the back. This mosaic of Neanderthal and modern human resembles similar traits found in a 25,000 years old fossil of a child in Abrigo do Lagar Velho or in the 31,000 years old site of Mladeč, by Cidália Duarte, et al. (1999).

In 2015 genetics research revealed that the Oase 1 fossil had a recent Neanderthal ancestor, with an estimated 5-11% Neanderthal autosomal DNA. The specimen's 12th chromosome was 50% Neanderthal.

Classifications

Homo sapiens archaic

Classification Tree

Ancestors

Homo sapiens archaic

Children

Sites