Bones belonging to a "new species of early human" previously unknown to science have been discovered in Israel, researchers said Thursday.
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Excavations at a cement factory quarry near the central city of Ramla have uncovered prehistoric fossils that do not correspond to any known species of the genus Homo.
Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have named this “new species of early human” as the “Nesher Ramla Homo type,” in a study published in the journal Science.
The fossils date from 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and the team believes that the Nesher Ramla type lived at the same time as Homo sapiens.
"We had never imagined that along with Homo sapiens, archaic Homo roamed the region so late in human history," said lead archaeologist Yossi Zaidner.
"The morphology of the Nesher Ramla people shares characteristics with both Neanderthals and archaic Homo," the researchers said.
“At the same time, this type of Homo closely resembles modern humans – displaying a completely different skull structure, no chin and very large teeth.” Along with the human fossils, the excavation uncovered large quantities of animal bones as well as stone tools.
"Archaeological findings associated with human fossils indicate that this new species of early human possessed advanced stone tool-making technologies and likely interacted with local Homo sapiens," said Mr. Zaidner.
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The researchers suggested that some fossils previously discovered in Israel, dated to 400,000 years ago, could belong to the same prehistoric man.
Dentist and anthropologist Rachel Sarig of Tel Aviv University said that previously researchers had tried to attribute the oldest bones to known human groups such as Homo sapiens or Neanderthal.
"Before these new findings, most researchers believed that Neanderthals were only found in Europe, in which small groups of Neanderthals were forced to migrate south to escape the spreading glaciers," said Israel Hershkovitz.
“Our findings suggest that the famous Neanderthals of Western Europe are just the remnants of a much larger population that lived here in the Levant – and not the other way around.” Ms Sarig said small groups of Nesher Ramla humans probably migrated to Europe, later evolving into Neanderthals and other populations with similar characteristics.
Researchers say this may also explain how some Homo sapiens genes have been found in the Neanderthal population that likely lived in Europe long before their arrival.
Professor Chris Stringer, from the Natural History Museum in London, said the Israeli findings were significant, but questioned the researchers' claim of a link to Neanderthals.
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Geneticists studying European DNA had previously suggested the existence of a Neanderthal-like population, dubbed "the missing population" or "population X," which would have interbred with Homo sapiens more than 200,000 years ago.
In the study, Israeli researchers suggest that Nesher Ramla Homo may be that missing link. Ms. Sarig said the find suggests that “as a crossroads between Africa, Europe and Asia, the Land of Israel served as a place of fusion, where different human populations mixed with each other, later spreading throughout the Old World.”
