以色列耶路撒冷希伯来大学Israel Hershkovitz等研究人员合作发现14万至12万年前中更新世的人类行为。这一研究成果于2021年6月25日发表在国际学术期刊《科学》上。

研究人员发现，在以色列Nesher Ramla露天遗址的明确考古环境中，中更新世（MP）人类的化石揭示了MP人的文化和行为。放射性年龄以及文化和地层考虑表明这些化石有140,000至120,000年的历史，在年代上与西亚的智人重叠。石器分析显示，MP人掌握了石器生产技术，以前只知道有智人和尼安德特人。

他们使用的Levallois敲打方法与西亚同时存在的智人的方法没有区别。对如此相似的简单解释是这两个人群之间的文化互动。这些发现构成了智人与MP人之间接触和互动的证据。

附：英文原文

Title: Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior and culture at 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and interactions with Homo sapiens

Author: Yossi Zaidner, Laura Centi, Marion Prévost, Norbert Mercier, Christophe Falguères, Gilles Guérin, Hélène Valladas, Malys Richard, Asmodée Galy, Christophe Pécheyran, Olivier Tombret, Edwige Pons-Branchu, Naomi Porat, Ruth Shahack-Gross, David E. Friesem, Reuven Yeshurun, Zohar Turgeman-Yaffe, Amos Frumkin, Gadi Herzlinger, Ravid Ekshtain, Maayan Shemer, Oz Varoner, Rachel Sarig, Hila May, Israel Hershkovitz

Issue&Volume: 2021/06/25

Abstract: Fossils of a Middle Pleistocene (MP) Homo within a well-defined archaeological context at the open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel, shed light on MP Homo culture and behavior. Radiometric ages, along with cultural and stratigraphic considerations, suggest that the fossils are 140,000 to 120,000 years old, chronologically overlapping with H. sapiens in western Asia. Lithic analysis reveals that MP Homo mastered stone-tool production technologies, previously known only among H. sapiens and Neanderthals. The Levallois knapping methods they used are indistinguishable from that of concurrent H. sapiens in western Asia. The most parsimonious explanation for such a close similarity is the cultural interactions between these two populations. These findings constitute evidence of contacts and interactions between H. sapiens and MP Homo.

DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3020

Source: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/372/6549/1429