World's Oldest Human Remains?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

Discovered in Israel, the finding challenges conventional wisdom that Homo sapiens originated in Africa

Israeli archaeologists have discovered human remains dating from 400,000 years ago, challenging conventional wisdom that Homo sapiens originated in Africa, the leader of excavations in Israel said on Tuesday.

Avi Gopher, of Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, said testing of stalagmites, stalactites and other material found in a cave east of Tel Aviv indicates that eight teeth uncovered there could be the earliest traces so far of our species.

"Our cave was used for a period of about 250,000 years -- from about 400,000 years ago to about 200,000 years ago," he told AFP.

"The teeth are scattered through the layers of the cave, some in the deeper part, that is to say from 400,000 years and through all kinds of other layers that can be up to 200,000 years. The oldest are 400,000 years old," he added."

That calls into question the widely held view that Africa was the birthplace of modern man, said Gopher, who headed the dig at Qesem Cave.

"It is accepted at the moment that the earliest Homo sapiens that we know is in east Africa and is 200,000 years old -- or a little less. We don't know of anywhere else where anyone claims to have an earlier Homo sapiens," he said.

Gopher said the first teeth were discovered in 2006 but he and his team waited until they had several samples, then conducted years of testing, using a variety of dating methods, before publishing their findings.

Digging continues at the cave, the university said, with researchers hoping to "uncover additional finds that will enable them to confirm the findings published up to now and to enhance our understanding of the evolution of mankind, and especially the appearance of modern man."

it still baffles me that as old as we are we didn't decide to flush turds away until a few thousand years ago .....

[Myk JL 1,731]

I'm looking forward to Young Earth Creationists first accepting the findings as it is "The Holy Land".

Then denying it when they read how old the findings are.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Discovered in Israel, the finding challenges conventional wisdom that Homo sapiens originated in Africa

it still baffles me that as old as we are we didn't decide to flush turds away until a few thousand years ago .....

Than again, we just have to look at the series "life without people" to see how many times catastrophe could have reduced the human population to almost nothing, allowing Nature to wipe out proof of advanced civilization. They have found dry cell batteries in the middle of north america that date thousands of years ago. Who knows eh?

[Ladywriter 7,783]

its really such a double edged sword. If we have come to this level of advanced tech before, wtf happened to us?

Did we abandon earth and colonize elsewhere? maybe we're the ancient aliens...

The environment killed us off? volcanism, climate hell courtesy glaciation, unpleasantries from space ...

Or did we kill each other off? War, bio-warfare, religious cult death pacts....

[Myk JL 1,731]

its really such a double edged sword. If we have come to this level of advanced tech before, wtf happened to us?

Did we abandon earth and colonize elsewhere? maybe we're the ancient aliens...

The environment killed us off? volcanism, climate hell courtesy glaciation, unpleasantries from space ...

Or did we kill each other off? War, bio-warfare, religious cult death pacts....

And don't forget the monrobots.... and Ireland before the invention of alcohol....