Study Places Neanderthals in Northern Arabia 55,000 Years Ago With 93% Tool-Match Accuracy
Updated
Updated · IFLScience · Aug 22
Study Places Neanderthals in Northern Arabia 55,000 Years Ago With 93% Tool-Match Accuracy
3 articles · Updated · IFLScience · Aug 22
Summary
Stone tools from Jebel Katefeh-1 in northern Saudi Arabia were identified as likely Neanderthal-made, suggesting the species reached northern Arabia about 55,000 years ago.
A statistical model comparing Levallois tool shapes, site age, environment and raw materials across Africa, Arabia and the Middle East classified Neanderthal versus Homo sapiens toolmakers with up to 93% accuracy.
The JKF-1 site sits near a dried prehistoric lake in the Nefud Desert, and its revised dating places it in a relatively humid interval later than the wetter "Green Arabia" phases usually tied to Homo sapiens dispersal.
The study stops short of proof because no bones or DNA were found, but it aligns with evidence that Neanderthals expanded across the Middle East between 75,000 and 50,000 years ago and may have ranged farther south than once thought.