Israel

scale Israel Callovian Jurassic +1

Scientists discover what kept ancient campfires burning for generations

feeding Israel fish Homo sapiens

Nearly 800,000 years ago, early humans living beside a lake in what is now Israel may have chosen the location for one surprisingly practical reason: firewood. Researchers discovered that these ancient people regularly gathered driftwood washed up along the shoreline, giving them an easy, reliable fuel source for cooking fish, processing large animals, making tools, and organizing daily life around hearths.

15/07/2026 sciencedaily-paleo

140,000-year-old skeleton shows earliest interbreeding between humans and Neanderthals

Israel fossil dating discovery Homo sapiens skeleton

Scientists have uncovered the world s earliest fossil showing both Neanderthal and Homo sapiens features: a five-year-old child from Israel s Skhul Cave dating back 140,000 years. This discovery pushes back the timeline of human interbreeding, proving that Neanderthals and modern humans were already mixing long before Europe s later encounters.

21/08/2025 sciencedaily-human-evo

Butchery clues reveal Neanderthals may have had “family recipes”

bone hunting Israel

Neanderthals living in two nearby caves in ancient Israel prepared their food in surprisingly different ways, according to new archaeological evidence. Despite using the same tools and hunting the same animals, they left behind distinct cut-mark patterns on bones—hints of cultural traditions passed down through generations.

17/07/2025 sciencedaily-human-evo