Archaeologists uncover rare 400,000-year-old pre-Neanderthal site in Israel

Archaeologists in Israel have uncovered a cave inhabited by pre-Neanderthal human ancestors up to 400,000 years ago, a discovery researchers say could significantly expand understanding of a little-known period of human evolution.

Archaeologists in northern Israel have discovered a cave inhabited by pre-Neanderthal hominins as long as 400,000 years ago, making it one of the few accessible sites from a poorly understood period of early human history, according to CNN. 

The cave, located near the town of Fureidis, was investigated ahead of planned construction work. Although researchers in the 1970s believed it had been used around 200,000 years ago, new excavations have pushed its age back by another 200,000 years.

Archaeologist Kobi Vardi of the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ron Shimelmitz, an associate professor of archaeology at the University of Haifa, based the revised dating on the discovery of flint hand axes, scrapers and blades associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture, which inhabited the Levant between about 400,000 and 250,000 years ago.

"It was a big surprise" to discover the cave was much older than previously believed, Vardi said.

The excavation also uncovered animal bones, including those of fallow deer and gazelles, indicating that large groups of hominins hunted wild animals and regularly occupied the cave.

According to a statement from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Shimelmitz said the findings point to the use of fire and "suggesting complex and rich camp life."

Despite the discoveries, researchers have not yet found human remains from this period at the site.

"The cave in Fureidis is 'a unique site of global importance,'" Shimelmitz said. "This time capsule belongs to a unique period at the end of the Lower Paleolithic era, just before Neanderthals and modern humans became dominant and spread across many regions."

"Only a handful of sites from this important phase have been uncovered in Israel and the wider Levant, and most of them are inaccessible for research," he added.

Following discussions with archaeologists, the construction company altered its plans and built a road bridge to preserve the cave for future research.

Vardi said extensive studies are expected to continue for several years.

"Our big hope in the excavation of these caves is that maybe we'll find hominin remains," he said. "We're very anxious to meet them."

Independent experts said the discovery could reshape understanding of early human evolution. Armando Falcucci, a lecturer in Palaeolithic archaeology at the University of Southampton who was not involved in the research, said the site sheds light on "a much earlier and equally pivotal window" of human history, when cave occupation and technological innovation accelerated.

"The evidence for intensive use of fire at this site is particularly significant," Falcucci said. "It is during this period, and at sites of exactly this kind, that habitual, controlled use of fire becomes archaeologically visible, marking a major behavioural threshold in human evolution."

Catriona Pickard, professor of prehistory and archaeometry at the University of Edinburgh, said the findings "provide rare insights into the material culture and lifeways of early hominins, and as such, the site has the potential to transform our understanding of the Lower Palaeolithic in the Levant."

By Sabina Mammadli