The fossilised tooth of a Neanderthal child found in a cave near Jerusalem could be proof our cousins made it into Africa as Cairo is just 400km away, study claims.
Archaeologists from the Max Planck Institute re-examined the fossil record from Shuqba Cave – 28km northwest of Jerusalem – including a child’s tooth.
The tooth was discovered in the cave in the 1920s and sat in a private collection for most of the 20th century until it was donated to the Natural History Museum in 2001.
Experts were able to determine the tooth belonged to a Neanderthal aged between seven and 12, raising questions about the history of hominin occupation of the area.
Before this study there was no evidence that Neanderthals – an extinct hominin species that lived in Eurasia until 40,000 years ago – had ever lived in Africa.
The tooth was discovered in the cave in the 1920s and sat in a private collection for most of the 20th century until it was donated to the Natural History Museum in 2001
Before this study there was no evidence that Neanderthals – an extinct hominin species that lived in Eurasia until 40,000 years ago – had ever lived in Africa. Stock image
Chris Stringer, a human evolution expert at the Natural History Museum, involved in the new discovery, said there were ‘two fascinating aspects’ to the find.
‘Firstly, we have speculated for a long time whether Neanderthals ever got to Africa. Shuqba is just a few hundred miles from Africa, so this finding really adds to the possibility that they did make it there.
‘Secondly, the stone tools found there were thought to be the product of modern humans,’ Stringer said, adding it looks like Neanderthals also used those tools.
‘This tooth reflects long term occupation rather than sporadic visits, it’s likely that these kinds of tools were made by Neanderthals as well,’ he said.
As well as being the most southerly example of Neanderthal occupation, it is also the first site discovered where there are both Neanderthal and modern humans.
This is the first time fossils of both Homo sapiens and Neanderthals have been discovered within the same region – marking it as a potential mixing ground.
‘Up to now we have no direct evidence of a Neanderthal presence in Africa,’ said Professor Stringer.
‘But the southerly location of Shuqba, only about 400 km from Cairo, should remind us that they may have even dispersed into Africa at times.’
Homo sapiens and Neanderthals shared the use of a wide range of stone tool technologies – but the Nubian Levallosi technology had been thought to be exclusively used by modern humans until now.
This information was used to help identify sites exclusively populated by Homo sapiens – but Neanderthals now appear to have used the same technique.
Dr Jimbob Blinkhorn of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History and lead author of the paper, said sites like this are still a rarity,
The tooth was discovered in the cave in the 1920s and sat in a private collection for most of the 20th century until it was donated to the Natural History Museum in 2001
Experts were able to determine the tooth belonged to a Neanderthal aged between seven and 12, raising questions about the history of hominin occupation of the area
‘Sites with both hominin fossils directly associated with stone tool assemblages remain a rarity – the study of both is critical to evaluate hominin occupations of Shuqba Cave and its place in the landscape.’
Shuqba Cave was first excavated in the spring of 1928 by Dorothy Garrod, who reported a rich assemblage of animal bones and Mousterian-style stone tools cemented in breccia deposits, often concentrated in well-marked hearths.
She also identified a large, unique human molar. However, the specimen was kept in a private collection for most of the 20th century, prohibiting comparative studies using modern methods.
A tooth dug up 17 miles from Jerusalem has been identified as belonging to a nine year-old Neanderthal child. The molar marks the southernmost known range of our primitive cousin
Photos of Nubian Levallois cores associated with Neanderthal fossils. This is the first time they’ve been found in direct association with Neanderthal fossils, which suggests we can’t make a simple link between this technology and Homo sapiens
The recent re-identification of the tooth at the Natural History Museum in London has led to new detailed work on the Shuqba collections.
‘We’ve examined the size, shape and both the external and internal 3D structure of the tooth, and compared that to Holocene and Pleistocene Homo sapiens and Neanderthal specimens,’ said Clément Zanolli, from Université de Bordeaux.
‘This has enabled us to clearly characterise the tooth as belonging to an approximately 9 year old Neanderthal child,’ says Zanolli, adding ‘Shuqba marks the southernmost extent of the Neanderthal range known to date.’
Illustrations of the stone tool collections from Shuqba hinted at the presence of Nubian Levallois technology so the team reinvestigated the museum collection.
‘In the end, we identified many more artefacts produced using the Nubian Levallois methods than we had anticipated,’ says Blinkhorn.
‘This is the first time they’ve been found in direct association with Neanderthal fossils, which suggests we can’t make a simple link between this technology and Homo sapiens.’
‘Southwest Asia is a dynamic region in terms of hominin demography, behaviour and environmental change,’ adds Simon Blockley, of Royal Holloway.
The region ‘may be particularly important to examine interactions between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens,’ the study co-author added.
‘This study highlights the geographic range of Neanderthal populations and their behavioural flexibility, but also issues a timely note of caution that there are no straightforward links between particular hominins and specific stone tools.’
The findings have been published in the journal Scientific Reports.