A new prehistoric man unknown to science discovered in Israel

When researchers realized that the bones they had recovered were not from Neanderthals or Homo sapiens, they began studying the possibility that they were among the last survivors of ancient populations that they believed had left hundreds of thousands of humans extinct. Since years.

“We searched for other members of this group and found that some of the fossils previously discovered at other prehistoric sites in Israel, including Kesem Cave, belong to the same group,” Hershkowitz said.

“So we realized we were dealing with a large population that lived in the area, and probably migrated in different directions as well, including in Asia and Europe and later became the people we know as Neanderthals.”

“They were culturally and biologically involved,” he said. “In Europe, the story was completely different because when modern humans got there about 45,000 years ago, they completely wiped out the local Neanderthals. That didn’t happen here.”

He added, “We believe that some of the fossils that we found later in many caves dating back 100,000 years may be related to the sapiens lineage and the Ramla distribution.”

For example, in Qafzeh Cave in Lower Galilee, archaeologists have found the remains of several people that represent the characteristics of both species, some closer to sapiens, others to Nesher Ramla.

“This is similar to what happens when we see that some children look like their mothers and some look like their fathers,” Hershkowitz noted.

Scientists failed to extract DNA from the fossils.

“Hot weather damages DNA,” Hershkowitz said. “In Israel, we haven’t been able to find any DNA that has survived 15,000 years ago.”

Thus, the researchers’ conclusions are based on the existing bone morphology.

“People think about models,” said Dr. Rachel Sarrig. For this reason, attempts have been made to attribute these fossils to known human groups such as Homo sapiens, Homo erectus, Homo heidelbergensis or Neanderthals. But now we say: No, this is a group in itself that has distinctive features and characteristics.

In the past, geneticists suggested that an unknown group represented the missing link between sapiens and Neanderthals, another researcher, Dr. Oh may. The answer may be the residents of Nesher Ramla.

She added, “As a crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia, the Land of Israel was a crucible where different human groups fused with each other, to later spread across the ancient world” “The discovery of sand nature writes a wonderful new chapter in the story of humanity.”