Manot Cave Skull Links Modern Humans to Neanderthals
55,000-year-old skull discovered in Israel’s Manot Cave
A 55,000-year-old skull discovered in Israel’s Manot Cave could point to where modern humans and Neanderthals interbred. Image: From Hershkovitz et al., Nature, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14134 (2015).
Between 40,000–60,000 years ago, Homo sapiens—modern humans—traveled from Africa through the Middle East to Eurasia, gradually replacing all other human groups during this pivotal period in human evolution. A 55,000-year-old skull discovered in northern Israel could point to where modern humans interbred with Neanderthals, filling in a gap in the fossil record for this critical evolutionary event.
The results of the study on the skull were recently published in the scientific journal Nature. Uranium-thorium dating conducted on the skull confirms that it’s about 55,000 years old, and the shape of the skull indicates that it belonged to a modern human.
“The southern Levant is the only place where anatomically modern humans and Neanderthals were living side by side for thousands and thousands of years,” Tel Aviv University physical anthropologist Israel Hershkovitz, who led the study, told Nature News & Comment.
“The Manot people are probably the forefathers of the early Palaeolithic populations of Europe,” Hershkovitz added.
As the point where three of the world’s major religions converge, Israel’s history is one of the richest and most complex in the world. Sift through the archaeology and history of this ancient land in the free eBook Israel: An Archaeological Journey, and get a view of these significant Biblical sites through an archaeologist’s lens.
Amateur speleologists exploring Manot Cave in the western Galilee in 2008 discovered the skull. Soon afterward, the Israel Antiquities Authority began archaeological excavations in the cave, uncovering evidence of human occupation that seem to date to a period later than the skull. Further excavations may reveal artifacts associated with the period to which the skull is dated.
“This specimen is really important and exciting, as—assuming the dating is correct—it shows for the first time that modern humans existed in the Near East at the same time as Neanderthals,” University of Tübingen palaeoanthropologist Katerina Harvati explained to Nature News & Comment. “Until now we had no evidence that the two even coexisted in this region during this time period. So this is a crucial piece of the puzzle.”
Read more in Nature News & Comment.
Related reading in Bible History Daily:
Why Study Prehistoric Israel?
12,000-Year-Old Shaman Funeral Reflects Natufian-Period Changes
“Lay Some Flowers on My Grave”: Oldest grave flowers discovered in Israel
Going Paleo: Prehistoric site in Israel offers menu for a Paleolithic diet
The Ancient Bean Diet: Fava Beans Favored in Prehistoric Israel
Related Posts
Must-Read Free eBooks
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Unlock Unlimited Access to the Bible's Past
Become an All-Access Member to explore the Bible's rich history. Get Biblical Archaeology Review in print, full online access, and FREE online talks. Plus, enjoy special Travel/Study discounts. Don't miss out—begin your journey today!
Evolution:
Definition: Organic evolution is the theory that the first living organism developed from lifeless matter. Then, as it reproduced, it is said, it changed into different kinds of living things, ultimately producing all forms of plant and animal life that have ever existed on this earth. All of this is said to have been accomplished without the supernatural intervention of a Creator. Some persons endeavor to blend belief in God with evolution, saying that God created by means of evolution, that he brought into existence the first primitive life forms and that then higher life forms, including man, were produced by means of evolution. Not a Bible teaching.
What about those “ape-men” depicted in schoolbooks, encyclopedias and museums?
“The flesh and hair on such reconstructions have to be filled in by resorting to the imagination. . . . Skin color; the color, form, and distribution of the hair; the form of the features; and the aspect of the face—of these characters we know absolutely nothing for any prehistoric men.”—The Biology of Race (New York, 1971), James C. King, pp. 135, 151.
“The vast majority of artists’ conceptions are based more on imagination than on evidence. . . . Artists must create something between an ape and a human being; the older the specimen is said to be, the more apelike they make it.”—Science Digest, April 1981, p. 41.
“Just as we are slowly learning that primitive men are not necessarily savages, so we must learn to realize that the early men of the Ice Age were neither brute beasts nor semi-apes nor cretins. Hence the ineffable stupidity of all attempts to reconstruct Neanderthal or even Peking man.”—Man, God and Magic (New York, 1961), Ivar Lissner, p. 304.
http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101989226
Do not believe this….next they will say the Sumerian Tablets are factual data….when said data is about the fallen angels.
This article sounds like a bunch of atheists scratching around the dirt, trying hard to verify links of humanistic evolutionary theory. I thought (and subscribe to) this magazine to read about Biblically-rooted findings and not more “evolutionary guesswork”. Please stick to archaeology articles based on Bible-based findings. If this is not your goal and practice, then notify me so I can cancel my subscription to BAR.
It has everything to do with the Bible, Bob, since it was God who told Abram to migrate from Haran to a land he had never seen (Genesis 12:1), lying at the crossroads of civilizations. God works in mysterious ways and this prehistoric human specimen who was of the genus Homo Sapiens had settled in the land after possibly migrating (like Abram) from Africa and may have interbred with the local genus of Neanderthals. The Neanderthals had adapted to the cold climate of Europe and Asia for a couple of hundred-thousand years prior to the arrival of Homo Sapiens and the latest theory suggests that certain traits of Neanderthals survive in the skin and hair of people of European heritage.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/30/science/neanderthals-leave-their-mark-on-us.html
That is all a bunch of crap to me, I know better.
If you believe in evolution you don’t believe in the God of Genesis, who created man in His image. Wake up “biblical”archeology.com.
Why do I even check your site every day, if I can just check National Geographic? 40-60 thousand years ago? This is so frustrating. No one has ANY proof of anything existing 40 thousand years ago. How is this science?? You’re lucky there is someone with a higher PAY grade than you that believes this stuff.
I’m new to this subscription and am very disappointed to find evolution accepted as fact. This undermines the authority of God’s Word, not supports it. Very disappointed.
Chill folks! You sound like atheists and evolutionists when they mock those who disagree with their pet theory. I applaud the inclusion of an article such as this. Learn to understand their findings without agreeing with them. Know the opposing point of view, its methodology (with its inherent problems) and thus sharpen your knowledge of the stand you take. Show that you can think critically and not merely hurl insults and stomp away with hurt feelings. “Study to show thyself approved”. http://evolutionfacts.com/Evolution-handbook/E-H-6a.htm
In response to Adam’s comment I disagree that if you believe in evolution you don’t really believe in God and the story of Daniel is an example since he and his companions were given an education in preparation for service in the Babylonian king’s court. They were taught “the writing and the language of the Kasdim” (Daniel 1:4) which could include astrology since the term “kasdim” also designates astrologers (Daniel 2:2). But what Daniel has an issue with is the meat and wine:
“The problem was twofold. First, the food provided did not meet the requirements of the Mosaic law in that it was not prepared according to regulations and may have included meat from forbidden animals. Second, there was no complete prohibition in the matter of drinking wine in the Law; but here the problem was that the wine, as well as the meat, had been dedicated to idols as was customary in Babylon. To partake thereof would be to recognize the idols as deities” (“Daniel; The Key To Prophetic Revelation,” by John F. Walvoord, p.37).
We can learn through scientific study without making it an idol to substitute for God. “Does the clay say to its fashioner, ‘What are you making?’ Does the thing he shaped say, ‘What are you making?'” (Isaiah 45:9).