A fisherman found the jawbone off of Sweden's west coast. Photo: Hasse Holmberg/TT

A recreational fisherman was casting his line into the Gullman fjord in the Bohuslän Archipelago in September when he discovered human remains including a jawbone with teeth.

The discovery was reported to the police who initially were unsure of the bone's age.

On Wednesday, police announced that radiocarbon dating has revealed that jawbone belonged to someone who lived hundreds of years ago. Although the results did not give a definitive time period, they did indicate that the person lived in the 19th century or earlier.

"Other studies have been conducted that point to this person likely being of European origin, but this is not completely certain," the police wrote.

At the time of the bone's discovery, police were uncertain whether it was a historical find or the result of a more recent incident.

"You can't tell if it is new or old. It's hard to say because it depends on what happens to the pieces in the water," Sten-Rune Timmersjö, the head of the police unit for serious crime in Fyrbodal, told Göteborgs-Posten at the time.

Divers explored the area for additional skeletal parts shortly after the initial discovery but the Wednesday press release from the police did not indicate that other human remains had been found.

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