|
The Skhul/Qafzeh hominids or Qafzeh–Skhul early modern humans are hominid fossils discovered in the Qafzeh and Es Skhul Caves in Israel. Skhul Cave is on the slopes of Mount Carmel; Qafzeh Cave is a rockshelter in Lower Galilee. The remains found at Es Skhul, together with those found at the Wadi el-Mughara Caves and Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh, were classified in 1939 by Arthur Keith and Theodore D. McCown as ''Palaeoanthropus palestinensis'', a descendent of ''Homo heidelbergensis''.〔(The Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial ), Paul Pettitt, 2013, p59〕〔(Human Adaptation in the Asian Palaeolithic: Hominin Dispersal and Behaviour during the Late Quaternary ), Ryan J. Rabett, 2012, p90〕〔(The stone age of Mount Carmel : report of the Joint Expedition of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and the American School of Prehistoric Research, 1929-1934 ), p18〕 ==History== The remains exhibit a mix of archaic and modern traits. They have been tentatively dated at about 80,000-120,000 years old using electron spin resonance and thermoluminescence dating techniques. The brain case is similar to modern humans, but they possess brow ridges and a projecting facial profile, similar to the Neanderthals. They were initially regarded as transitional from Neanderthals to modern humans, or as hybrids between Neanderthals and modern humans. Neanderthal remains have been found nearby at Kebara Cave that date to 61,000-48,000 years ago, but it has been hypothesised that the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids had died out by 80,000 years ago because of drying conditions, suggesting that the two types of hominids never made contact in the region. A more recent hypothesis is that Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent the first exodus of modern humans from Africa around 125,000 years ago, probably via the Sinai Peninsula, and that the robust features exhibited by the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent archaic sapiens features rather than "Neanderthal features".〔 The discovery of modern human made tools from about 125,000 years ago at Jebel Faya, United Arab Emirates, in the Arabian Peninsula, may be from an even earlier exit of modern humans from Africa. Ian Wallace and John Shea have devised a methodology for examining the various Middle 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 early ''Homo sapiens'' or Neanderthal mobility patterns, and thus categorize site occupations. In 2005, a set of 7 teeth from Tabun Cave in Israel were studied and found to most likely belong to a Neanderthal that may have lived around 90,000 years ago,〔Newly recognized Pleistocene human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel Alfredo Coppa, Rainer Grün, Chris Stringer, Stephen Eggins, and Rita Vargiu Journal of Human Evolution Volume 49, Issue 3, September 2005, Pages 301-315〕 and another Neanderthal (C1) from Tabun was estimated to be ~122,000 years old. 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/Qafzeh hominids are partially of Neanderthal descent. DNA analysis has revealed that "non-Africans" contain 1-4% Neanderthal genetic material and it has been postulated that hybridization took place in the Middle East,〔Neanderthal genome reveals interbreeding with humans: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn18869-neanderthal-genome-reveals-interbreeding-with-humans.html, retrieved 13 July 2010.〕 however it has been suggested that the Skhul/Qafzeh hominids represent an extinct lineage, and that modern humans again exited Africa around 70,000 years ago, crossing a narrow stretch of water, known as the straits of Bab-el-Mandeb, between present day Eritrea and the Arabian Peninsula,〔 which is the same route proposed to have been taken by the people who made the modern tools at Jebel Faya.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Skhul and Qafzeh hominids」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|