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Scientists discover oldest known modern human fossil outside of Africa
phys.org ^ | 01/25/2018 | http://www.binghamton.edu/

Posted on 01/25/2018 2:19:08 PM PST by Red Badger

The left hemi-maxilla with teeth. Credit: Rolf Quam _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A large international research team, led by Israel Hershkovitz from Tel Aviv University and including Rolf Quam from Binghamton University, State University of New York, has discovered the earliest modern human fossil ever found outside of Africa. The finding suggests that modern humans left the continent at least 50,000 years earlier than previously thought.

"Misliya is an exciting discovery," says Rolf Quam, Binghamton University anthropology professor and a coauthor of the study. "It provides the clearest evidence yet that our ancestors first migrated out of Africa much earlier than we previously believed. It also means that modern humans were potentially meeting and interacting during a longer period of time with other archaic human groups, providing more opportunity for cultural and biological exchanges."

The fossil, an upper jawbone with several teeth, was found at a site called Misliya Cave in Israel, one of several prehistoric cave sites located on Mount Carmel. Several dating techniques applied to archaeological materials and the fossil itself suggest the jawbone is between 175,000-200,000 years old, pushing back the modern human migration out of Africa by at least 50,000 years.

Researchers analyzed the fossil remains relying on microCT scans and 3D virtual models and compared it with other hominin fossils from Africa, Europe and Asia.

"While all of the anatomical details in the Misliya fossil are fully consistent with modern humans, some features are also found in Neandertals and other human groups," said Quam, associate professor of anthropology at Binghamton. "One of the challenges in this study was identifying features in Misliya that are found only in modern humans. These are the features that provide the clearest signal of what species the Misliya fossil represents."

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The archaeological evidence reveals that the inhabitants of Misliya Cave were capable hunters of large game species, controlled the production of fire and were associated with an Early Middle Paleolithic stone tool kit, similar to that found with the earliest modern humans in Africa.

While older fossils of modern humans have been found in Africa, the timing and routes of modern human migration out of Africa are key issues for understanding the evolution of our own species, said the researchers. The region of the Middle East represents a major corridor for hominin migrations during the Pleistocene and has been occupied at different times by both modern humans and Neandertals.

This new discovery opens the door to demographic replacement or genetic admixture with local populations earlier than previously thought, said Quam. Indeed, the evidence from Misliya is consistent with recent suggestions based on ancient DNA for an earlier migration, prior to 220,000 years ago, of modern humans out of Africa. Several recent archaeological and fossil discoveries in Asia are also pushing back the first appearance of modern humans in the region and, by implication, the migration out of Africa.

Composite image of the Misliya Cave site during excavation, along with the maxilla and several representative Early Middle Paleolithic stone tools. Credit: Carla Schaffer, AAAS

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Close-up view of the Misliya-1 teeth. Credit: Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University

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More information: DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8369 I. Hershkovitz el al., "The earliest modern humans outside Africa," Science (2018). http://science.sciencemag.org/cgi/doi/10.1126/science.aap8369

Journal reference: Science

Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-01-scientists-oldest-modern-human-fossil.html#jCp


TOPICS: Education; History; Outdoors; Science
KEYWORDS: anthropology; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; israel; misliya; misliyacave; mountcarmel; neandertal; neandertals; neanderthal; neanderthals; paleolithic
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1 posted on 01/25/2018 2:19:08 PM PST by Red Badger
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To: SunkenCiv

PinGGG!.......................


2 posted on 01/25/2018 2:19:37 PM PST by Red Badger (Wanna surprise? Google your own name. Wanna have fun? Google your friends names......)
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To: Red Badger

Was he a (D)?


3 posted on 01/25/2018 2:22:13 PM PST by Don Corleone (.leave the gun, take the canolis, take it to the mattress.)
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To: Don Corleone

He will be.........................


4 posted on 01/25/2018 2:23:21 PM PST by Red Badger (Wanna surprise? Google your own name. Wanna have fun? Google your friends names......)
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To: Red Badger

He had a good dentist.


5 posted on 01/25/2018 2:24:09 PM PST by Leep (The dims better watch it..Trump is CRAZY!!)
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To: Red Badger

6 posted on 01/25/2018 2:30:41 PM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: Don Corleone

“Was he a (D)?”

You can confirm he was if he remains on the voter roles and has voted for the last 100,000 years.


7 posted on 01/25/2018 2:31:28 PM PST by Jewbacca (The residents of Iroquois territory may not determine whether Jews may live in Jerusalem)
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To: Red Badger

He had threatened to move to a different continent if his candidate for chieftain didn’t win.


8 posted on 01/25/2018 2:32:12 PM PST by CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC ("Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt" - Pr. Herbert Hoover)
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To: Jewbacca

9 posted on 01/25/2018 2:33:07 PM PST by Red Badger (Wanna surprise? Google your own name. Wanna have fun? Google your friends names......)
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To: Leep
He had a good dentist.

That was my take. The teeth look to be in pretty good shape. Perhaps that only means that s/he was quite young.

10 posted on 01/25/2018 2:33:23 PM PST by the_Watchman
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To: Red Badger

Only a matter of time before Abbas claims that the fossils were of a Palestinian..


11 posted on 01/25/2018 2:36:06 PM PST by reg45 (Barack 0bama: Gone but not forgiven.)
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To: reg45

Palestine: A mythical country that has never existed................and will never.....................


12 posted on 01/25/2018 2:41:50 PM PST by Red Badger (Wanna surprise? Google your own name. Wanna have fun? Google your friends names......)
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To: reg45

OTOH, there were no such people as Palestinians prior to 1948.


13 posted on 01/25/2018 2:50:26 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: Don Corleone
Nope - this is a (D) fossil.

Head_up_his_ass

14 posted on 01/25/2018 2:51:22 PM PST by SkyDancer ( ~ Just Consider Me A Random Fact Generator ~ Eat Sleep Fly Repeat ~)
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To: Red Badger

15 posted on 01/25/2018 2:55:40 PM PST by Tijeras_Slim
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To: the_Watchman
Perhaps that only means that s/he was quite young.

Or maybe because they hadn't learned to refine sugar at that point.

16 posted on 01/25/2018 3:07:22 PM PST by Will88
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To: Will88

+1


17 posted on 01/25/2018 8:23:44 PM PST by Crucial
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To: Red Badger

LOL, Helen Thomas’ heir apparent.


18 posted on 01/25/2018 8:36:09 PM PST by dfwgator
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To: Leep
If this was the cave of this person, where is the rest of the body?

On the other hand, perhaps this person lost the fight, and was invited for dinner, afterwards?

Worse, perhaps the place was taken over by a large predator later, who was responsible for the cracking of the cranium into small fragments, of which this is one.

Lots of possibilities, , and they are well preserved teeth!

19 posted on 01/25/2018 8:48:00 PM PST by going hot (happiness is a momma deuce)
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To: going hot
On the other hand, perhaps this person lost the fight, and was invited for dinner, afterwards?

IIRC, Neanderthals and modern humans lived in this area up to 40,000 years ago. That may account for fewer whole skeletons found, and should be the metric for additional scientific papers.

20 posted on 01/26/2018 12:33:21 AM PST by Does so (Release the memo...!)
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