Oldest human bone found underwater in Dutch

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhuanet) -- A 40,000 year-old human bone has been landed by a fishing boat trawling for mussels off the Dutch coast, according to media reports Monday.

Anthropologists from the University of Leipzig in eastern Germany examined the find and confirmed that the forehead bone was "at least 40,000 years old and therefore the oldest ever found underwater," according to August's edition of GEO magazine.

A "tool kit" was also found, consisting of a hand-axe and flints, the German scientists said.

However, despite the fact the bone was found under the sea, the man dwelt on land and primarily ate meat, the scientists said.

When he lived, the Netherlands and Britain were one land mass.

(Agencies)