Humans in Israel 400,000 Years Ago

http://www.jpost.com/Sci-Tech/Article.aspx?id=201076

Homo sapiens lived in Eretz Yisrael 400,000 years ago
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
26/12/2010

Teeth found near Rosh Ha’ayin older than anything uncovered in Africa.



Eight human teeth dating back as far as 400,000 years ago and found at the prehistoric Qesem Cave near Rosh Ha’ayin – discovered recently by Tel Aviv University researchers – are “the world’s earliest evidence” of modern man (Homo sapiens).

Until now, remains of humans from only 200,000 years ago have been found in Africa, and the accepted approach has been that modern man originated on that continent.

Long before the land was called Israel and the residents Jews, Homo sapiens lived here twice as long ago as was previously believed, the researchers wrote in the latest (December) edition of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

The cave was uncovered in 2000 by Prof. Avi Gopher and Dr. Ran Barkai of TAU’s Institute of Archeology. Later, Prof.

Israel Hershkowitz of the Department of Anatomy and Anthropology at TAU’s Sackler School of Medicine and an international team of scientists performed a morphological analysis on the teeth found in the cave.

The examination included CT scans and X-rays indicating the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man. The teeth found in the cave are also very similar to evidence of modern man dated to around 100,000 years ago that had previously been discovered in the Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel and the Qafzeh Cave in the Lower Galilee near Nazareth.

The Qesem Cave is dated between 400,000 and 200,000 years ago, and archeologists working there believe that the findings indicate significant changes in the behavior of ancient man.

This period of time was crucial in the history of mankind from cultural and biological perspectives, and the fact that teeth of modern man were discovered indicates that these changes are apparently related to evolutionary changes taking place at that time, they maintained.

Gopher and Barkai noted that the findings that characterize the culture of those who dwelled in the Qesem Cave – the systematic production of flint blades, the habitual use of fire, evidence of hunting, cutting and sharing of animal meat, mining raw materials to produce flint tools from subsurface sources and much more – reinforce the hypothesis that this was, in fact, innovative and pioneering behavior that corresponds with the appearance of modern man.

The specimens, date back to the Middle Pleistocene era, include permanent and deciduous teeth. They were thus placed chronologically earlier than the bulk of fossil hominin specimens previously known from southwest Asia.

Although none of the Qesem teeth resemble those of pre-Homo sapiens Neanderthals, a few traits may suggest some affinities with members of the Neanderthal evolutionary lineage, but the balance of the evidence suggests a closer similarity with the Skhul-Qafzeh dental material, said Gopher and Barkai.

According to the researchers, the discoveries made in the Qesem Cave may change the perception that has been widely accepted to date in which modern man originated on the continent of Africa.

In recent years, archeological evidence and human skeletons have been discovered in Spain and China that are liable to undermine this perception, but the findings now uncovered at Qesem are significant and invaluable, and their early age is undoubtedly an extraordinary archeological discovery, said Gopher and Barkai.

As excavations at the cave continue, the researchers hope to uncover additional discoveries that will enable them to confirm the findings published up to now and to enhance their understanding of the evolution of mankind and especially the appearance of modern man.

 

Interesting story, thanks for posting that.

 

So the young earth theory is garbage?

 

Well yeah...

According to the Bible there were only 950 years between Adam and Noah..

Not much time for the Dinosaurs to come and go.

 

And the people there were all Palestinians and their descendants still have the keys to their caves.

 

Absolutely not. I am told by the Republicans the earth is only 6,000 years old.

 

The devil put the teeth there to throw us off.

 

LOLOL... apparently so.

They have also discovered that Tel Aviv doesn't date to the time of Solomon but was built between the 7th and 8th century BC.

http://news.oneindia.in/2010/12/29/studyon-ancient-tel-aviv-fortress-sheds-light-on-itspast.html

 

Boy, if it was only 6000 years old, those "experts" who claim to know about planetary climate because they've been recording for a meager 100 years might have a little more significance.

 

I'm curious because the article mentions Homo Sapiens and I'm wondering about the ancestor species that came before modern humans.

 

I think the article makes that clear, but do remember that within the last six months, archologists released their findings on the 12,000 year old Natufian cave dwellers in Galillee.

 

So much for a young earth................

 

I would be interested in what peer reviews and the wider scientific community have to say.

Until them, I'm skeptical on the dating and identification of these 8 teeth. This is a claim that needs further corroboration IMO.

 

They have been studying these teeth since 2000.. I think that has been done already.

 

If they werent jewish then we need to give the land back to them. LOL

 

This is interesting. I wonder what geneticist will have to say about it. If I remember right, the method used to determine that man originated in Africa, was basically tracing genetic markers back to their earliest point.

 

According to the article you posted, they even have reservations about their own findings....

They are looking for additional discoveries to confirm their findings....and all indications are that they've published papers on the teeth, but I don't see any peer reviews on this.

It's way too soon to post declarations...science/archeology often moves slowly.

 

so where the jews coning regulate white folks of there savings, back then too?

 

So? The firtile cresent is the cradle of civilization after all? Very Interesting.

 

Here's more on the find...


http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/212720.php

excerpt:

Qesem Cave is dated to a period between 400,000 and 200,000 years ago, and archaeologists working there believe that the findings indicate significant evolution in the behavior of ancient man.

This period of time was crucial in the history of mankind from cultural and biological perspectives. The teeth that are being studied indicate that these changes are apparently related to evolutionary changes taking place at that time.

Prof. Gopher and Dr. Barkai noted that the findings related to the culture of those who dwelled in the Qesem Cave - including the systematic production of flint blades; the regular use of fire; evidence of hunting, cutting and sharing of animal meat; mining raw materials to produce flint tools from subsurface sources - reinforce the hypothesis that this was, in fact, innovative and pioneering behavior that may correspond with the appearance of modern man.

 

No one has ever said it wasn't.

 

No, they haven't, nor does the OP have anything at all to do with the cradle of civilization.

Still, if that finding stands up to scientific scrutiny, it will stand the theories of the origin of man on their heads. Humans evolved in the ME, not in Africa, and twice as long ago as previously thought? Wow!

That is quite a conclusion from a few teeth. I think more research is going to be necessary.

 

Maybe, maybe not.. The Natufians are found from the Nile Delta to Galillee.

 

The human precursors like austrolapithicus (sp?) are still from Africa. Modern man may have evolved in the Middle East, but humanity's origins are still in Africa.

 

Hmm... had to look that one up.

That is much more recent than the modern humans in Africa, let alone people twice as ancient in the ME. It is about the time civilization began between the Tigris and Euphrates, but what does it have to do with possible ancient humans living 400,000 years ago??