‘New type of early human’ found in Israel
- The discovery calls into question the widely-accepted theory that Neanderthals first emerged in Europe before migrating south
- University of Tel Aviv anthropologists and archaeologists dubbed the find the ‘Nesher Ramla Homo type’ after the site where the bones were found
Israeli researchers said they had found bones belonging to a “new type of early human” previously unknown to science, shedding new light on the course of human evolution.
Archaeological digs near the city of Ramla by a team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem uncovered prehistoric remains that could not be matched to any known species from the Homo genus, which includes Homo sapiens – modern humans.
In a study published in the journal Science, University of Tel Aviv anthropologists and archaeologists led by Yossi Zaidner dubbed the find the “Nesher Ramla Homo type” after the site where the bones were found.
Dating to between 140,000 and 120,000 years ago, “the morphology of the Nesher Ramla humans shares features with both Neanderthals … and archaic Homo,” the researchers said in a statement.
“At the same time, this type of Homo is very unlike modern humans – displaying a completely different skull structure, no chin, and very large teeth.”
Along with the human remains, the dig uncovered large quantities of animal bones as well as stone tools.