Abstract
THE nature of the relationship between Neanderthals and early modern Homo sapiens is controversial, yet it is fundamental to our understanding of early human evolution1,2. The Middle Palaeolithic sites of Israel are critical to this debate, because unlike those of western Europe and Africa they contain both Neanderthal (at Tabun3 and Kebara4 for example) and anatomically modern hominids (as at Skhul5 and Qafzeh6). Here we present new mass spectrometric 230Th/234U dates for dental fragments from the Middle Palaeolithic burial sites of Tabun, Qafzeh and Skhul. These data, combined with published ages from electron spin resonance (ESR), provide compelling evidence that the Tabun Neanderthals and Qafzeh early modern Homo sapiens were approximately coeval in the southern Levant some 100 ± 5 kyr ago, but indicate that some of the Skhul material is younger. The study also shows that combined mass-spectrometric 230Th/234U and ESR dating is an invaluable technique for dating archaeological sites beyond the range of radiocarbon dating.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Stringer, C. B. & Grün, R. Nature 351, 701–702 (1991).
Wolpoff, M. H., Frayer, D. W. & Stringer, C. B. Nature 356, 200–201 (1992).
Jelinek, A. J. Science 216, 1369–1375 (1982).
Rak, Y. Am. J. phys. Anthrop. 81, 323–332 (1990).
McCown, T. D. & Keith, A. The Stone Age of Mount Carmel Vol. II (Clarendon, Oxford, 1939).
Vandermeersch, B. Les Hommes Fossiles de Qafzeh, Israel (CNRS, Paris, 1981).
Jelinek, A. J. in The Transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic and the Origin of Modern Man (ed. Ronen, A.) 57–101 (Brit. Archaeol. Rep. Int. Ser. 151, Oxford, 1982).
Valladas, H. et al. Nature 330, 159–160 (1987).
Schwarcz, H. P. et al. J. archaeol. Sci. 16, 653–659 (1989).
Valladas, H. et al. Nature 331, 614–616 (1988).
Aitken, M. J. & Valladas, H. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B337, 139–144 (1992).
Bar-Yosef, O. & Vandermeersch, B. in Prehistoire du Levant (eds Cauvin J. & Sanlaville, P.) 281–285 (CNRS, Paris 1981).
Stringer, C. B. et al. Nature 338, 756–758 (1989).
Schwarcz, H. P. et al. J. hum. Evol. 17, 733–737 (1988).
Grün, R., Stringer, C. B. & Schwarcz, H. P. J. hum. Evol. 20, 231–248 (1991).
Grün, R. & Stringer, C. B. Archaeometry 33, 2, 153–199 (1991).
Jelinek, A. J. in The Emergence of Modern Humans (ed. Mellors, P.) 81–90 (Edinburgh Univ. Press, Edinburgh, 1990).
Jelinek, A. J. in The Evolution and Dispersal of Modern Humans in Asia (ed. Akazawa, T.) (Univ. Mus. Bull. Univ. of Tokyo, in the press).
Rae, A. M. & Ivanovich, M. Appl. Geochem. 1, 419–426 (1986).
McKinney, C. R. thesis, SMU Dallas (1991).
Grün, R. et al. Nucl. Tracks 14, 237–241 (1988).
Garrod, D. & Bate, D. The Stone Age of Mount Carmel Vol. I (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford, 1937).
Farrand, W. R. J. archaeol. Sci. 6, 369–392 (1979).
McCown, T. D. in The Stone Age of Mount Carmel Vol. I (eds Garrod, D. & Bate, D.) 91–107 (Clarendon, Oxford, 1937).
Bar-Yosef, O. in The Human Revolution: Behavioral and Biological Perspectives on the Origin of Modern Humans (eds Mellar, P. & Stringer, C. B.) 589–610 (Edinburgh Univ. Press, 1989).
Oakley, K. P. et al. Catalogue of Fossil Hominids III: Americas, Asia and Australia (British Museum (Nat. History), London, 1975).
Stringer, C. B. & Trinkaus, E. in Aspects of Human Evolution (ed. Stringer, C. B.) 129–165 (Taylor and Francis, London, 1981).
Jelinek, A. J. in Prehistoire du Levant (eds Cauvin, J. & Sanlaville, P.) 265–280 (CNRS, Paris, 1981).
Masters, P. M. in The Transition from Lower to Middle Palaeolithic and the Origin of Modern Man (ed. Ronen, A.) 43–54 (Brit. Archaeol. Rep. Int. Ser. 151, Oxford, 1982).
Trinkaus, E. in The Origin of Modern Humans (eds Smith, F. H. & Spencer, F.) 251–293 (Liss, New York, 1984).
Edwards, R. L. et al. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 81, 175–192 (1987).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McDermott, F., Grün, R., Stringer, C. et al. Mass-spectrometric U-series dates for Israeli Neanderthal/early modern hominid sites. Nature 363, 252–255 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1038/363252a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/363252a0
This article is cited by
-
Y-DNA genetic evidence reveals several different ancient origins in the Brahmin population
Molecular Genetics and Genomics (2021)
-
The Levallois Flaking System in Nesher Ramla Upper Sequence
Journal of Paleolithic Archaeology (2021)
-
The success of failed Homo sapiens dispersals out of Africa and into Asia
Nature Ecology & Evolution (2018)
-
The Muddle in the Middle Pleistocene: The Lower–Middle Paleolithic Transition from the Levantine Perspective
Journal of World Prehistory (2016)
-
The Bab al Mandab vs the Nile-Levant: An Appraisal of the Two Dispersal Routes for Early Modern Humans Out of Africa
African Archaeological Review (2006)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.