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50,000-year-old Skull

50,000-year-old Skull May Show Human-Neanderthal Hybrids Originated in Levant, not Europe as Thought

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A 55,000-year-old skull found at Manot Cave in northern Israel is shedding light on the origins and migrations of ancient humanity. The skull, suggested to be evidence of a pairing between Neanderthals and modern humans, would be the earliest evidence of modern man meeting and mating with Neanderthals found to date.

According to ScienceDaily, the partial skull “provides evidence that both modern humans and Neanderthals inhabited the southern Levant during the late Pleistocene, close in time to the likely interbreeding event between modern humans and Neanderthals.” This would challenge the theory that two species connected 10,000 years later in Europe.

Newly-discovered skull from Manot Cave.

Newly-discovered skull from Manot Cave. Credit: Clara Amit/Israel Antiquities Authority

Describing the significance of the partial skull find in the Manot Cave, the authors of the recent study published in the science journal Nature report, “It is similar in shape to recent African skulls as well as to European skulls from the Upper Palaeolithic period, but different from most other early anatomically modern humans in the Levant. This suggests that the Manot people could be closely related to the first modern humans who later successfully colonized Europe. Thus, the anatomical features used to support the ‘assimilation model’ in Europe might not have been inherited from European Neanderthals, but rather from earlier Levantine populations.”

The skeletal remains of a Neanderthal child (not from Manot).

The skeletal remains of a Neanderthal child (not from Manot). Wikimedia, (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Manot is a nearly-sealed prehistoric cave located in the rocky hills of western Galilee, Israel which was discovered in 2008 by spelunkers rappelling through a newly opened roof. Rockfalls had blocked the entrance off 15,000 to 30,000 years ago. Excavations since 2010 have uncovered a trove of charcoal, bones, flint, and archaeological artifacts dating to the Upper Paleolithic era, and have shown that it was intensely occupied during that period, notes the website Antiquity. According to reports from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), Manot is found on the “the only land route available for ancient humans to travel out of Africa to the Middle East, Asia and Europe.”

Inside Manot Cave in northern Israel. Excavations have revealed artifacts and a partial skull dating back 50,000 years.

Inside Manot Cave in northern Israel. Excavations have revealed artifacts and a partial skull dating back 50,000 years. Credit: Amos Frumkin / Hebrew University Cave Research Center

The skull is missing fragments that would allow researchers to know the owner’s gender. DNA extraction from the skull would reveal more, and would be a step toward confirming parentage and whether it is an ancestor of modern humans, but due to the hot climate of the area that is unlikely. However, the excavation team at Manot believe there are more fossils to be found in the cave.

The quest to establish humanity’s ancient origins continues with exciting research such as this. Combined with the recent discoveries of prehistoric teeth and jaw bones found in China and Taiwan.

Fossilized jawbone, dubbed Penghu 1, found submerged in seafloor near Taiwan. Dated between 10,000 and 190,000 years ago.

Fossilized jawbone, dubbed Penghu 1, found submerged in seafloor near Taiwan. Dated between 10,000 and 190,000 years ago. Credit: Y. Kaifu, CC BY-NC-SA-4.0

Glenn Starkman, director of the Institute of the Science of Origins told CWRU, “Who we are, where we came from and how we got here are questions that have fascinated us humans since before there was history. We weaved wondrous myths that answered those questions definitively, but now we slowly accumulate evidence from the distant past.”

Featured Image: Neanderthal Hominid Skull, (not from Manot). North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM)/Flickr

By Liz Leafloor  

 

Comments

So much to be learned, possibility of when language was acquired, and is the human-neander dna from male Neanders, and is this the result of a group or even one person aka Gengis Kahn.
Yes, the Neanders were meat eaters but if they predated the Cro Magnons there wouldn't be any left. If there was food for Cro Magnon, there would have been food for Neanders. So much to learn.

Roberto Peron's picture

Considering that only a partial skull cap has been found I would not be jumping to conclusions so fast.  I am always skeptical with such finds and tend to wait for the DNA evidence or more complete remains to be found.  As for the Levant being the only route available for crossing out of Africa into the Levant, Asia, and Europe I remain skeptical as well.  Let us not forget Gibraltar and the fact that we really cannot base such conclusions on the present positions of land masses.  At this point we don't even know for certain if this skull cap is human so I will await further excavation or DNA analysis before I'd say this is a Neanderthal hybrid.

 

Liz

Liz Leafloor is former Art Director for Ancient Origins Magazine. She has a background as an Editor, Writer, and Graphic Designer. Having worked in news and online media for years, Liz covers exciting and interesting topics like ancient myth, history,... Read More

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