32°41′18″N35°19′06″E / 32.68833°N 35.31833°E /32.68833; 35.31833

TheSkhul and Qafzeh hominins orQafzeh–Skhul early modern humans^[1] arehomininfossils discovered inEs-Skhul andQafzeh caves inIsrael. They are today classified asHomo sapiens, among the earliest of their species in Eurasia. Skhul Cave is on the slopes ofMount Carmel; Qafzeh Cave is a rockshelter nearNazareth inLower Galilee.

The remains found at Es Skhul, together with those found at theNahal Me'arot Nature Reserve andMugharet el-Zuttiyeh, were classified in 1939 byArthur Keith andTheodore D. McCown asPalaeoanthropus palestinensis, a descendant ofHomo heidelbergensis.^[2][3][4]

The remains exhibit a mix of traits found inarchaic andanatomically modern humans. They have been tentatively dated at about 80,000–120,000 years old usingelectron paramagnetic resonance andthermoluminescence dating techniques.^[5] The brain case is similar to modern humans, but they possess brow ridges and a projecting facial profile likeNeanderthals. They were initially regarded as transitional from Neanderthals toanatomically modern humans, or ashybrids between Neanderthals and modern humans. Neanderthal remains have been found nearby atKebara Cave that date to 61,000–48,000 years ago,^[6] but it has been hypothesised that the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids had died out by 80,000 years ago because of drying and cooling conditions, favouring a return of a Neanderthal population^[7] suggesting that the two types of hominids never made contact in the region. A more recent hypothesis is that Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent the firstexodus of modern humans from Africa around 125,000 years ago, probably via theSinai Peninsula, and that the robust features exhibited by the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent archaic sapiens features rather than Neanderthal features.^[7] The discovery of modern human made tools from about 125,000 years ago atJebel Faya, United Arab Emirates, in the Arabian Peninsula, may be from an even earlier exit of modern humans from Africa.^[8] In January 2018 it was announced that modern human finds at the Mount Carmel cave ofMisliya, discovered in 2002, had been dated to around 185,000 years ago, giving an even earlier date for an out-of-Africa migration.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Ian Wallace andJohn Shea have devised a methodology for examining the variousMiddle Paleolithic core assemblages present at the Levant site in order to test whether the different hominid populations had distinct mobility patterns. They use a ratio of "formal" and "expedient"cores within assemblages to demonstrate either earlyHomo sapiens or Neanderthal mobility patterns, and thus categorize site occupations.^[13] In 2005, a set of 7 teeth fromTabun Cave in Israel were studied and found to most likely belong to a Neanderthal that may have lived around 90,000 years ago,^[14] and another Neanderthal (C1) from Tabun was estimated to be ~122,000 years old.^[15] If the dates are correct for these individuals, then it is possible that Neanderthals and early moderns did make contact in the region and it may be possible that the Skhul and Qafzeh hominids are partially of Neanderthal descent. Non-African modern humans contain 1–4% Neanderthal genetic material, withhybridisation possibly having taken place in theMiddle East.^[16] It has been suggested, however, that the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent an extinct lineage. If this is the case, modern humans would have re-exited Africa around 70–50,000 years ago, crossing the narrowBab-el-Mandeb strait betweenEritrea and theArabian Peninsula.^{[7][17][18][19][20]} This is the same route proposed to have been taken by the people who made the modern tools atJebel Faya.^[8]

The Skhul remains (Skhul 1–9) were discovered between 1929 and 1935 in theEs-Skhul Cave onMount Carmel. The remains of seven adults and three children were found, some of which (Skhul 1, 4, and 5) are claimed to have been burials.^[21] Assemblages of perforatedNassarius shells (amarine genus), which are significantly different from local fauna, have also been recovered from the area, suggesting that these people may have collected and employed the shells as beads,^[22] as they are unlikely to have been used as food.^[23]

Skhul Layer B has been dated to an average of 81,000–101,000 years ago with the electron spin resonance method, and to an average of 119,000 years ago with the thermoluminescence method.^[24][25]

Skhul 5 had themandible of awild boar on its chest.^[21] The skull displays prominent supraorbital ridges and jutting jaw, but the rounded braincase of modern humans. When found, it was assumed to be an advancedNeanderthal, but is today generally assumed to be a modern human, if a very robust one.^[26]

Qafzeh cave opens onto a wall ofWadi el Hadj in the flank ofMount Precipice. Excavation of the cave byRené Neuville began in 1934 and resulted in the discovery of the remains of 5 individuals in theMousterian stratigraphic levels, which was then called the Levalloiso-Mousterian^[27] (seeLevallosian). The lower layers of the cave were later dated to 92,000 years ago,^[28] and a series of hearths, several human bodies, flint artifacts (side scrapers, disc cores, and points^[29]), animal bones (gazelle, horse, fallow deer, wild ox, and rhinoceros^[29]), a collection of sea shells, lumps of redochre, and an incised cortical flake were found.^[28]

The remains of 15 hominids, 8 of them children, were recovered in total from Qafzeh within a Mousterian archaeological context and dated to ca. 95,000 years ago.^[30] Remains of Qafzeh 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 15 were burials.^[21]

The marine shells (Glycymeris bivalves) were brought from Mediterranean Sea shore some 35 km away, and were recovered from layers earlier than most of the bodies save one.^[28] The shells were complete, naturally perforated, and several showed traces of having been strung (perhaps as a necklace), and a few had ochre stains on them.^[28]

The various layers at Qafzeh were dated to an average of 96,000–115,000 years ago with the electron spin resonance method and 92,000 years ago with the thermoluminescence method.^[24]

Two skeletons were found in 1969 in the same burial, the skeleton of a late adolescent whose sex is debated (Qafzeh 9),^[31] and the skeleton of a young child (Qafzeh 10).^[27] Qafzeh 9 has a high forehead, lack of occipital bun, a distinct chin, but a prognathic face.^[32] Qafzeh 9 offers the earliest evidence of associated mandibular and dental pathological conditions (i.e.non-ossifying fibroma of the mandible, pre-eruptive intracoronal resorption and osteochondritis dissecans of the temporomandibular joint) among early anatomically modern humans^[33]

Found in 1971 was the body of an adolescent (aged about 13 years^[34]) found in a pit dug in thebedrock. The skeleton was lying on its back, with the legs bent to the side and both hands placed on either side of the neck, and in the hands were the antlers of a largered deer clasped to the chest.^[21][27]

A child of about 3 years old who manifests with skeletal abnormalities that indicatehydrocephalus.^[30]

Qafzeh 25 was discovered in 1979. Due to his overall robustness and tooth wear, the remains are believed to be of a young male.^[35] The fossil has undergone heavy taphonomical damages including a complete crushing of the skull and mandible.^[36] Its inner ear morphology confirm that it is an anatomically modern human^[37]

• Archaeology of Israel
• Manot 1
• Qesem cave

• Skhūl anthropological and archaeological site, Israel
• Qafzeh IX / Skhul 9 Images at Modern Human Origins^[usurped]
• BBC – Cave Colours reveal Mental Leap
• Selected excerpt on Jebel Qafzeh from 'The Neolithic of the Levant' byAndrew M. T. Moore –Oxford University

• Anthropology
• Recent African origin of modern humans
• Middle Stone Age
• Homo fossils
• Homo sapiens fossils
• Prehistoric Israel
• Mount Carmel

• Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas
• Webarchive template wayback links
• Webarchive template archiveis links
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from March 2017
• Coordinates on Wikidata