Earliest Modern Human Outside of Africa Discovered

Misliya Cave in Israel, one of several prehistoric cave sites
located on Mount Carmel

An international research team 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. This exciting discovery also means that modern humans were possibly meeting and interacting during a longer period with other ancient human groups.

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.  Archaeologists have dated the jawbone to between 175,000-200,000 years old. The archaeological evidence reveals that the inhabitants of Misliya Cave hunted large game, used fire, and Early Middle Palaeolithic stone tools, like those found with the earliest modern humans in Africa. The region of the Middle East represents a major corridor for hominin migrations during the Pleistocene Period between 2.6 million to 11,700 years ago.

The 177,000 to 194,000-year-old maxilla (upper jaw) of Misliya-1 hominin (Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University)

Scientists believe that Modern humans (Homo sapiens) first appeared around 200,000 years ago in what is now known as Africa. However, a re-evaluation of early human remains and artefacts from Morocco has suggested that the advent of Homo sapiens may have to be put back by 100,000 years. Archaeologists and palaeontologists believe that the oldest of the fossils comes from 300,000 to 350,000 years ago.

The ‘Out of Africa’ Model

The traditional "Out of Africa" model states that modern humans evolved in Africa and then dispersed across Asia and reached Australia in a single wave about 60,000 years ago. Recent discoveries show that humans left Africa many times prior to 60,000 years ago, and that they interbred with other hominins in many locations across Eurasia.

Scientists have identified modern human fossils in Asia that are potentially much older. Homo sapiens remains have been found at multiple sites in southern and central China that have been dated to between 70,000 and 120,000 years ago. Other recent studies do confirm that all present-day non-African populations branched off from a single ancestral population in Africa approximately 60,000 years ago.

Modern humans interbred not only with Neanderthals, but also with our recently-discovered relatives the Denisovans, as well as a currently unidentified population of pre-modern hominins. One estimate is that all present-day non-Africans have 1-4% Neanderthal heritage, while another group has estimated that modern Melanesians have an average of 5% Denisovan heritage. Researchers now believe that modern humans, Neanderthals, Denisovans and perhaps other hominin groups likely overlapped in time and space in Asia.

The complete skeleton of a Neanderthal child discovered on the site of Marsal Roc, Dordogne in France ( public domain )

Modern Human 40,000 years ago had Neanderthal Great-Great-Grandfather

Current research shows that Neanderthals were, and continue to be, an integral part of modern humanity. Our prehistoric cousins didn’t completely disappear from the earth, as their presence can still be identified within modern DNA. A jawbone from a man who lived 40,000 years ago reveals that six to nine percent of his genome is Neanderthal, the highest amount ever found in a modern human specimen. This remarkable find indicates that a Neanderthal was in his family as close as four generations back in his family tree—potentially his Great-Great Grandfather!

Humans and chimpanzees are very closely related and separated about 7.4 million years ago.  There is only a 1% difference between the chimpanzee genome and our own suggesting that we have a common ancestor. People living today who are of European, Eurasian, and Asian descent have well-identified Neanderthal-derived segments in their genome. Present-day Africans, however, do not have detectable traces of Neanderthal DNA in their genomes. This shows that whatever sexual contact occurred between modern humans and Neanderthals happened among humans who left the African continent. 

The last Neanderthals?

The Neanderthals thrived in Europe for around 300,000 years before modern humans arrived. Neanderthals occupied Europe for at least 100,000 years during a period when glacial cycles dominated the climate. Excavations in Ibex, Vanguard, and Gorham’s Caves in Gibraltar have revealed evidence of Neanderthal occupation dating to possibly as late as 28,000 years ago. This makes Gibraltar the most recent Neanderthal occupation site yet discovered.

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal Man

Scientists conducted an analysis on archaeological evidence dating back 200,000 years and found that Neanderthals made effective tools and weapons, wore ornaments such as eagle claws, used ochre, ate plants and fish as well as big game, used fire to produce pitch from tree bark, and created organised living spaces in their caves.

The new research suggests that Neanderthals didn’t become extinct but vanished gradually over time by interbreeding and assimilation with early humans.

Conclusion

Humans and chimpanzees are very closely related and separated about 7.4 million years ago.  There is only a 1% difference between the chimpanzee genome and our own suggesting that we have a common ancestor. Until recently, scientists believed that Modern humans first appeared around 200,000 years ago in what is now known as Africa. Archaeologists and palaeontologists now believe that the oldest of the fossils comes from 300,000 to 350,000 years ago.

The Misliya Cave discovery suggests that Modern humans left the continent at least 50,000 years earlier than previously thought interacting over a longer period with other ancient human groups. One estimate is that all present-day non-Africans have 1-4% Neanderthal heritage. Our prehistoric cousins didn’t completely disappear from the earth, as their presence can still be identified within modern DNA. Scientists believe that the Neanderthals didn’t become extinct but were gradually assimilated over time by interbreeding with early humans. 
For further information see:
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-evolution-human-origins/jawbone-earliest-modern-human-outside-africa-discovered-israel-009494?nopaging=1
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/updates-out-africa-revising-story-dispersal-modern-humans-across-eurasia-021755

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XiF0xgFPMs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CchYodMdgs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K5BL06-RPuI