Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
Thu Aug 19, 2021, 05:48 PM Aug 2021

Meet Nesher Ramla Homo: New form of human found

A remarkable fossil find has indicated that two peoples once shared the Middle East for thousands of generations. Their co-existence was extraordinary because these groups were different types of humans.

Fragments of bone dating from about 130,000 years ago have been identified as a previously unknown form of human, distinct from Homo sapiens.

Named the Nesher Ramla Homo, it was a more primitive member of our evolutionary tree. It is likely to have had features such as a prominent brow ridge, large teeth and no chin.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/meet-nesher-ramla-homo-new-form-of-human-found-970snz87q

Nesher Ramla and Homo sapiens are thought to have mixed, shared knowledge and interbred
ALAMY

8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Meet Nesher Ramla Homo: New form of human found (Original Post) left-of-center2012 Aug 2021 OP
A new type of homo unknown to science left-of-center2012 Aug 2021 #1
NOT Homo'sapien'... myccrider Aug 2021 #8
Interesting . . .. Lovie777 Aug 2021 #2
Add another branch keithbvadu2 Aug 2021 #3
I hate the use of the word "primitive" in this context Random Boomer Aug 2021 #4
wish I could rec your post rurallib Aug 2021 #6
Ugh, that ilustration Warpy Aug 2021 #5
"a bunch of obese 45 year old power lifters" left-of-center2012 Aug 2021 #7

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
1. A new type of homo unknown to science
Thu Aug 19, 2021, 05:49 PM
Aug 2021

Last edited Fri Aug 20, 2021, 08:40 AM - Edit history (1)

Researchers from Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have identified a new type of early human at the Nesher Ramla site, dated to 140,000 to 120,000 years ago. According to the researchers, the morphology of the Nesher Ramla humans shares features with both Neanderthals (especially the teeth and jaws) and archaic Homo (specifically the skull). At the same time, this type of Homo is very unlike modern humans -- displaying a completely different skull structure, no chin, and very large teeth. Following the study's findings, researchers believe that the Nesher Ramla Homo type is the 'source' population from which most humans of the Middle Pleistocene developed. In addition, they suggest that this group is the so-called 'missing' population that mated with Homo sapiens who arrived in the region around 200,000 years ago -- about whom we know from a recent study on fossils found in the Misliya cave.

Two teams of researchers took part in the dramatic discovery, published in the journal Science: an anthropology team from Tel Aviv University headed by Prof. Israel Hershkovitz, Dr. Hila May and Dr. Rachel Sarig from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine and the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research and the Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, situated in the Steinhardt Museum at Tel Aviv University; and an archaeological team headed by Dr. Yossi Zaidner from the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Prof. Israel Hershkovitz: "The discovery of a new type of Homo" is of great scientific importance. It enables us to make new sense of previously found human fossils, add another piece to the puzzle of human evolution, and understand the migrations of humans in the old world. Even though they lived so long ago, in the late middle Pleistocene (474,000-130,000 years ago), the Nesher Ramla people can tell us a fascinating tale, revealing a great deal about their descendants' evolution and way of life."

The important human fossil was found by Dr. Zaidner of the Hebrew University during salvage excavations at the Nesher Ramla prehistoric site, in the mining area of the Nesher cement plant (owned by Len Blavatnik) near the city of Ramla. Digging down about 8 meters, the excavators found large quantities of animal bones, including horses, fallow deer and aurochs, as well as stone tools and human bones. An international team led by the researchers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem identified the morphology of the bones as belonging to a new type of Homo, previously unknown to science. This is the first type of Homo to be defined in Israel, and according to common practice, it was named after the site where it was discovered -- the Nesher Ramla Homo type.

Dr. Yossi Zaidner: "This is an extraordinary discovery. We had never imagined that alongside Homo sapiens, archaic Homo roamed the area so late in human history.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210624141540.htm

myccrider

(484 posts)
8. NOT Homo'sapien'...
Fri Aug 20, 2021, 08:38 AM
Aug 2021

Sapiens is our species name and only modern humans are called Homo sapiens. Our genus name is Homo, examples of other species are Homo neanderthalensis for Neanderthals (although some scientists used to consider Neanderthals to be a sub-species of homo sapiens, making us Homo sapiens sapiens and Neanderthals Homo sapiens neanderthalensis, not sure if that’s still used), Homo erectus and Homo floresiensis for the very small ‘Hobbit’ found on the island of Flores, and several more who are part of our genus but not members of our species.

Random Boomer

(4,246 posts)
4. I hate the use of the word "primitive" in this context
Thu Aug 19, 2021, 07:23 PM
Aug 2021

It's an anachronistic homo-centric term that implies that a genetic species is progressing along some upward path that leads to a more "advanced" lifeform that just so happens to be modern homo sapiens.

Evolution doesn't work that way. Every species has adapted to its own environment at the time in which it lives; it's not a primitive form of something yet greater to come; it's just a precursor to another set of adaptations to an ever-changing environment.

Warpy

(113,130 posts)
5. Ugh, that ilustration
Thu Aug 19, 2021, 07:27 PM
Aug 2021

The discovery of a new archaic human is great, especially if they coexisted with us, but a bunch of obese 45 year old power lifters?

Middle age for these guys was mid to late teens and I doubt any of them got the chance to put on much body fat. And did they reproduce by budding? There should at least be a few young hunters in the pack.

/rant

I wonder if they've managed to get enough DNA to run.

left-of-center2012

(34,195 posts)
7. "a bunch of obese 45 year old power lifters"
Thu Aug 19, 2021, 07:48 PM
Aug 2021

“obese... power lifters”
What picture are you looking at ?



Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Anthropology»Meet Nesher Ramla Homo: N...