An international team of European, Israeli and North American researchers has discovered a 55,000-year-old partial skull which provides clues to the migration of modern humans out of Africa to Europe. This week’s Nature issue contains a report on the partial skull that was discovered at Israel’s Manot Cave, Western Galilee. A key event in our evolution was the spread of modern humans of African origin across Eurasia (Europe and Asia), replacing all other forms of hominin, between 40,000 to 60,000 years ago. It is difficult to link these human fossils with all non-African peoples because they are very rare. The inside of the Manot Cave where the 55,000-year-old skull was found. Photo by Amos Frumkin/Hebrew University Cave Research Center. The Manot Cave is a rare site that combines an active stalactite cavern with human occupation. It was damaged during construction. Active stalagmites (rock formations that rise from the floor of a cave) and rock falls had apparently blocked the main entrance to the cave for about 15,000 years. Cave Research Center of Hebrew University of Jerusalem conducted an initial survey of caves and made reports on the archaeological findings. Along with Dr. Omry Marder, an archeologist from Ben-Gurion University and Professor Israel Hershkovitz, the anthropological analysis of the skull was conducted by Dr. Ofer Marsder, a Ben-Gurion University professor. According to the authors, the skull’s distinctive “bun-shaped” occipital area at the back resembles modern European and African skulls. It is however different from any other anatomically advanced humans from Levant. Researchers believe that the Manot could have closely related to European colonists. Both Neanderthals were found in southern Levant. This was during which modern humans and Neanderthals may have interbreeded. Evidence of Neanderthals and humans The Hebrew University of Jerusalem stated that this discovery provides evidence that both Neanderthals and humans lived in southern Levant during the Late Pleistocene, which was close to when modern humans and Neanderthals likely interbreeved. Citation: Levantine cranium found in Manot Cave, Israel, foreshadows first European modern human beings,” Israel Hershkovitz. Ofer Marder. Miryam Bar–Matthews. Elisabetta Boaretto. Valentina Caracuta. Bridget Alex. Philipp Gunz. Ralph L. Holloway. Ron Lavi. Alan Matthews. Viviane Slon. Viviane Slon. Guy Bar-Oz. Guy. Hans. May. Nature (2015). doi: 10. 1038/nature14134.
55,000-year-old partial skull provides clues to human Africa-to-Europe migration
