A fossil discovered by researchers from Tel Aviv University. Image by Tel Aviv University

(JTA) — A fossil found in Israel indicates modern humans may have left Africa as much as 100,000 years earlier than previously thought.

Scientists say that an ancient upper jawbone and associated stone tools could also mean that Homo sapiens, modern humans, arose in Africa far earlier than fossils now show, according to a study published this week in the journal Science by Tel Aviv University anthropologist Israel Hershkovitz.

The results of Hershkovitz’s study may cause rethinking about how we evolved and interacted with now-extinct cousin species, such as Neanderthals, according to the Associated Press.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“When they start moving out of Africa and what geographical route they choose to do it are the two most important questions in recent human evolution,” Hershkovitz told AP.

The jawbone, complete with several well-preserved teeth, was dated to be somewhere between 177,000 and 194,000 years old. Previously, the oldest fossils of modern humans found outside of Africa were somewhere from 90,000 to 120,000 years old, also in Israel.

The jaw was found in 2002, but researchers spent 15 years looking for more fossils before publishing their study. They say the jaw belonged to a young adult of unknown gender.

The Science paper suggests modern humans could have left Africa 220,000 years ago, with some of the authors saying maybe it was even earlier. That’s in part because the cave also contained about 60,000 flint tools, mostly blades and sharp points, some of which are 250,000 years old, said study co-author Mina Weinstein-Evron.

“Now we have to write another story,” Weinstein-Evron said. “People were moving all the time.”

The tool supply in the cave and other evidence were so complete it basically showed “industry” by the early modern humans, she said. “This guy or woman would have been very busy,” she said. “He didn’t have enough time do this. He couldn’t have made all of it. He must have had some friends.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re in the middle of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount