The earliest modern humans outside Africa
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Israel Hershkovitz
- Function : Author
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- ORCID : 0000-0001-5841-6090
- IdRef : 029743540
Gerhard Weber
- Function : Author
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Rolf Quam
- Function : Author
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- ORCID : 0000-0002-1140-5615
- IdRef : 221793887
Norbert Mercier
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 170956
- IdHAL : norbert-mercier
- ORCID : 0000-0002-6375-9108
- IdRef : 163762716
Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792771
- ORCID : 0000-0001-5361-2295
- IdRef : 059082097
María Martinón-Torres
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792772
- ORCID : 0000-0002-2750-4554
Cinzia Fornai
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 765096
- ORCID : 0000-0002-0911-0164
Laura Martín-Francés
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792773
- ORCID : 0000-0001-5853-5014
Rachel Sarig
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792774
- ORCID : 0000-0002-9323-5014
Hila May
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792775
- ORCID : 0000-0002-5256-2369
Viktoria Krenn
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 792776
- ORCID : 0000-0002-4707-5435
Viviane Slon
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 777977
- ORCID : 0000-0001-6485-7159
Rebeca Garcia
- Function : Author
- PersonId : 749201
- IdHAL : rebeca-garcia
- ORCID : 0000-0002-7727-5745
Abstract
To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the Homo sapiens clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of Homo sapiens around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of $Homo\ sapiens$ in the region, as has been documented in Africa.