In 1928, the famous British archaeologist Dorothy Garrod excavated Shukbah’s Cave in the Palestinian mountains, just north of Jerusalem.
This was some of her earliest work in a long and successful career, revealing a rich collection of ancient stone tools, animal bones, and a single fossil tooth – resembling a giant human molar.
For fifty years the find was lost in the private collection of a colleague, unknown and neglected. Then, at the turn of the century, the long-lost tooth landed in the paws of researchers at the British Museum of Natural History.
Looking closely at the large lump, researchers realized that it may have been from a young Neanderthal, perhaps between the ages of 7 and 12.
To date, the Shukbah tooth is the southernmost example of the Neanderthal range in Arabia.
“So far we have no direct evidence of a Neanderthal presence in Africa,” says Chris Stringer, who studies human evolution at the Natural History Museum.
“But the southern part of Shukbah, just about 400 km from Cairo, should remind us that they may have even spread into Africa at times.”
In addition, the associated stone tools excavated nearby looked very modern in their drawings.
When Garrod discovered the tooth years ago, she immediately suspected that she was from Neanderthal, but since its discovery was lost in a private collection, the claim was never confirmed.
Other related items she found from Shukbah’s cave, including flakes, points, and reconstructed tools, have been separated and distributed to several global centers over the years.
By re-examining these teeth and devices decades later, researchers at the British Museum have confirmed that the molar actually belonged to a Neanderthal child, about 9 years old. .
Furthermore, it appears that the stone tools excavated near this Neanderthal child were made using a method of stone carving which is thought to have been used only by Homo sapiens.
This type of knapping is called the Nubian Levallois method, and is sometimes thought to be in southern Arabia during the Palaeolithic signaling expansion Homo sapiens out of Africa.
Therefore, several other excavations in the region have just assumed that Nubian Levallois machines were made by Homo sapiens, even without nearby human fossil remains to support that hunt.
But there is another explanation. The area in which Garrod excavated a few years ago has a relatively high density of cave sites with the remains of ancient hominin societies.
Over the years, finds in this important hub, many made by Goddard, have revealed a landscape that included both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
The Nubian Levallois method may therefore have been adopted by Neanderthals moving from Europe further south, meaning that the method may have been used by both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens At the same time.
The differences between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens has become more difficult to define in recent years, and this new research suggests the use of stone tools as a way to determine if the site was connected to Neanderthals or Homo sapiens it is not enough on its own.
The stone tool technology found in Shukbah caves shares extensive features with other mid-late Palaeolithic finds associated with Neanderthals. But the authors state that the Nubian Levallois method was clearly there in some examples.
“Eventually, we identified many more materials made using Nubian Levallois methods than we expected,” said archaeologist Jimbob Blinkhorn, who worked on the research during at the University of London.
“This is the first time they have been found in direct association with Neanderthal fossils, which shows that we can’t make a simple connection between this technology and Homo sapiens. “
The result does not prove that Neanderthals cured the machines themselves using this method. Stone tools could be a valuable commodity worth sharing. But it is enough to shake confidence that the technology can be used to differentiate a specific human presence.
The range of Neanderthals in southern Arabia is often confined to the forests, but the Shuqbah cave may have represented a degree of transition between these vegetated areas and more beautiful landscapes in the south. , the authors suggest.
“This study highlights the geographic range of Neanderthal populations and their behavioral flexibility,” says archaeologist Simon Blockley from the University of London.
“But it also makes a timely warning note that there are no direct links between specific hominins and specific stone tool technologies.”
The study was published in Scientific Reports.