A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel

Israel Hershkovitz*, Hila May*, Rachel Sarig, Ariel Pokhojaev, Dominique Grimaud-Hervé, Emiliano Bruner, Cinzia Fornai, Rolf Quam, Juan Luis Arsuaga, Viktoria A. Krenn, Maria Martinón-Torres, José María Bermúdez De Castro, Laura Martín-Francés, Viviane Slon, Vball Lou Albessard-, Amélie Vialet, Tim Schüler, Giorgio Manzi, Antonio Profico, Fabio Di VincenzoGerhard W. Weber, Yossi Zaidner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

44 Scopus citations

Abstract

It has long been believed that Neanderthals originated and flourished on the European continent. However, recent morphological and genetic studies have suggested that they may have received a genetic contribution from a yet unknown non-European group. Here we report on the recent discovery of archaic Homo fossils from the site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, which we dated to 140,000 to 120,000 years ago. Comprehensive qualitative and quantitative analyses of the parietal bones, mandible, and lower second molar revealed that this Homo group presents a distinctive combination of Neanderthal and archaic features. We suggest that these specimens represent the late survivors of a Levantine Middle Pleistocene paleodeme that was most likely involved in the evolution of the Middle Pleistocene Homo in Europe and East Asia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1424-1428
Number of pages5
JournalScience
Volume372
Issue number6549
DOIs
StatePublished - 25 Jun 2021

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