The incomplete female skeleton unearthed last month in the Guar Kepah site, on mainland Penang, Malaysia, was revealed to be 5710 years old through carbon dating.

The skeleton, dubbed “Penang Woman” was initially dated to the Neolithic. Radiocarbon dating confirmed the skeleton is about 5,710 years plus or minus 30 years Before Present (BP). The researchers need to conduct more testing on the skeleton to confirm more details, including its gender, though initial observations indicate it is a woman.

The skeleton has been taken with the surrounding ground to a lab in order to excavate it and secure in safe conditions. More tests on it will be conducted once the skeleton has stabilised and acclimatised to the new temperatures and level of humidity. Samples have been sent to a laboratory in Denmark for DNA testing. The skeleton is the first and only remaining Neolithic skeleton found in a shell midden in Malaysia.

(after The Malay Mail Online & KE Ooi)