Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals
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 demonstrate...
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2021-02-01
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82257-6 |
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doaj-5d64256148cd4ed8a7b7c60d7345e3102021-02-21T12:35:08ZengNature Publishing GroupScientific Reports2045-23222021-02-0111111310.1038/s41598-021-82257-6Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost NeanderthalsJames Blinkhorn0Clément Zanolli1Tim Compton2Huw S. Groucutt3Eleanor M. L. Scerri4Lucile Crété5Chris Stringer6Michael D. Petraglia7Simon Blockley8Pan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryUniv. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199Centre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History MuseumExtreme Events Research Group, Max Planck Institutes for Chemical Ecology, The Science of Human History, and BiogeochemistryPan-African Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryCentre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History MuseumCentre for Human Evolution Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History MuseumDepartment of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human HistoryCentre for Quaternary Research, Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of LondonAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82257-6 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
James Blinkhorn Clément Zanolli Tim Compton Huw S. Groucutt Eleanor M. L. Scerri Lucile Crété Chris Stringer Michael D. Petraglia Simon Blockley |
spellingShingle |
James Blinkhorn Clément Zanolli Tim Compton Huw S. Groucutt Eleanor M. L. Scerri Lucile Crété Chris Stringer Michael D. Petraglia Simon Blockley Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals Scientific Reports |
author_facet |
James Blinkhorn Clément Zanolli Tim Compton Huw S. Groucutt Eleanor M. L. Scerri Lucile Crété Chris Stringer Michael D. Petraglia Simon Blockley |
author_sort |
James Blinkhorn |
title |
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals |
title_short |
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals |
title_full |
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals |
title_fullStr |
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nubian Levallois technology associated with southernmost Neanderthals |
title_sort |
nubian levallois technology associated with southernmost neanderthals |
publisher |
Nature Publishing Group |
series |
Scientific Reports |
issn |
2045-2322 |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
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. |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82257-6 |
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