Abstract

Neanderthals occurred widely across north Eurasian landscapes, but between ~ 70 and 50 thousand years ago (ka) they expanded southwards into the Levant, which had previously been inhabited by Homo sapiens. Palaeoanthropological research in the first half of the twentieth century demonstrated alternate occupations of the Levant by Neanderthal and Homo sapiens populations, yet key early findings have largely been overlooked in later studies. Here, we present the results of new examinations of both the fossil and archaeological collections from Shukbah Cave, located in the Palestinian West Bank, presenting new quantitative analyses of a hominin lower first molar and associated stone tool assemblage. The hominin tooth shows clear Neanderthal affinities, making it the southernmost known fossil specimen of this population/species. The associated Middle Palaeolithic stone tool assemblage is dominated by Levallois reduction methods, including the presence of Nubian Levallois points and cores. This is the first direct association between Neanderthals and Nubian Levallois technology, demonstrating that this stone tool technology should not be considered an exclusive marker of Homo sapiens.

Details

Title
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals
Author
Blinkhorn, James 1 ; Zanolli Clément 2 ; Compton, Tim 3 ; Groucutt, Huw S 4 ; Scerri Eleanor M L 5 ; Crété Lucile 3 ; Stringer, Chris 3 ; Petraglia, Michael D 6 ; Blockley, Simon 7 

 Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.469873.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 4914 1197); Royal Holloway University of London, Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Egham, UK (GRID:grid.4970.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 881X) 
 Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, Pessac, France (GRID:grid.503132.6) (ISNI:0000 0004 0383 1969) 
 Natural History Museum, Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, London, UK (GRID:grid.35937.3b) (ISNI:0000 0001 2270 9879) 
 The Science of Human History, and Biogeochemistry, Extreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.35937.3b); Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.469873.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 4914 1197); Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany (GRID:grid.6190.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 8580 3777) 
 Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.469873.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 4914 1197); University of Malta, Department of Classics and Archaeology, Msida, Malta (GRID:grid.4462.4) (ISNI:0000 0001 2176 9482); Institute of Prehistoric Archaeology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany (GRID:grid.6190.e) (ISNI:0000 0000 8580 3777) 
 Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Department of Archaeology, Jena, Germany (GRID:grid.469873.7) (ISNI:0000 0004 4914 1197); Smithsonian Institution, Human Origins Program, Washington, USA (GRID:grid.1214.6) (ISNI:0000 0000 8716 3312); The University of Queensland, School of Social Science, Brisbane, Australia (GRID:grid.1003.2) (ISNI:0000 0000 9320 7537) 
 Royal Holloway University of London, Centre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Egham, UK (GRID:grid.4970.a) (ISNI:0000 0001 2188 881X) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2489438592
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.