Very Biblical. Earliest Humans in Israel

-
By Daniel Estrin

The Associated Press
updated 12/27/2010 1:06:52 PM ET 2010-12-27T18:06:52
JERUSALEM — Israeli archaeologists said Monday that they may have found the earliest evidence yet for the existence of modern humans, and if the find is confirmed, it could upset theories of the origin of humans.

A Tel Aviv University team excavating a cave in central Israel said teeth found in the cave are about 400,000 years old and resemble those of other remains of modern humans, known scientifically as Homo sapiens, found in Israel. The earliest Homo sapiens remains found until now are half as old.

"It's very exciting to come to this conclusion," said archaeologist Avi Gopher, whose team examined the teeth with X-rays and CT scans and dated them according to the layers of earth where they were found.
He stressed that further research is needed to solidify the claim. If it does, he said, "this changes the whole picture of evolution."

The accepted scientific theory is that Homo sapiens originated in Africa and migrated out of the continent starting sometime around 80,000 years ago. Gopher said if the remains are definitively linked to Homo sapiens, it could mean that modern humans in fact originated in what is now Israel.

Sir Paul Mellars, a prehistory expert at Cambridge University, said the study is reputable. He said that the find is "important" because remains from that critical time period are scarce, but that it is premature to say the remains are human.

"Based on the evidence they've cited, it's a very tenuous and frankly rather remote possibility," Mellars said. He said the remains are more likely related to modern humans' ancient relatives, the Neanderthals.


Baz Ratner / Reuters
Avi Gopher and Ran Barkai, researchers from Tel Aviv University's Institute of Archaeology, stand at Qesem Cave, an excavation site east of Tel Aviv, on Monday.
According to today's accepted scientific theories, modern humans and Neanderthals stemmed from a common ancestor who lived in Africa about 700,000 years ago. One group of descendants migrated to Europe hundreds of thousands of years ago and developed into Neanderthals, later becoming extinct. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens — modern humans.

Teeth are often unreliable indicators of origin, and analyses of skull remains would more definitively identify the species found in the Israeli cave, Mellars said.

Gopher, the Israeli archaeologist, said he is confident his team will find skulls and bones as they continue their dig.

The prehistoric Qesem cave was discovered in 2000, and excavations began in 2004. Researchers Gopher, Ran Barkai and Israel Hershkowitz published their study in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.



Taken from: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40820248/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New test dates Shroud of Turin to era of Christ

-
Image
 Doug Stanglin, USA TODAY 3:34 p.m. EDT March 30, 2013 Although the Vatican makes no claim on the shroud's authenticity as a relic, Pope Francis introduced a special TV appearance of the burial cloth on Holy Saturday. The Shroud of Turin, shown in 1979, is a 14-foot linen revered by some as the burial cloth of Jesus. The Pope provided the introduction for a TV appearance of the cloth on Holy Saturday. New research claims that the cloth does in fact date from the era of Christ, disputing other tests dating it to the Middle Ages. (Photo: Barrie M. Schwortz, AP) Story Highlights Expert says fibers used in tests dating it to Middle Ages were contaminated Vatican reveres the cloth but stops short of declaring it a relic A new app allows smartphone users to examine the cloth in detail SHARE CONNECT 260 TWEET COMMENT EMAIL MORE New scientific tests on the Shroud of Turin, which went on display Saturday in a special TV appear...
Read more

The Nephilim and the Pyramid of the Apocalypse

-
Image
A query from France: Dear Damien, Do you know “The Nephilim and the Pyramid of the Apocalypse” by Patrick Heron (Kensington Publishing Corp., 2004).? It offers many interesting views on mythologies and Egypt. I read it because I am writing an article on “the days of Noah” (Mt24:36-38 or Lc17:26) . Transhumanism looks terribly similar, if not much worse, to the deeds of the Nephilim before and after the Flood. So I am just curious to know if you, perchance, have any opinion on this author and his theses. I wish you a holy and merry Christmas ! .... Damien Mackey replies:   .... I once went to a lecture where it was even suggested that the Egyptians may originally have come from the Moon. As I see it, the Nephilim came into being when the originally good Sethite line (the children of God) began to mingle with the corrupt Cain-ites. Their progeny were the Nephilim hybrids. This was all pre-Flood (c. 2300 BC), of course, well before the Pyramids...
Read more

An Archaeology for the Garden of Eden

-
Image
The Lost Rivers of the Garden of Eden taken from: http://www.kjvbible.org/rivers_of_the_garden_of_eden.html The quest for pinpointing the exact location of the Biblical Garden of Eden and the four rivers almost rivals the quest for the location of fabled Atlantis. And the theories that abound are almost as numerous as the interpretations of the seven days of Genesis. Before tackling this question let's review what is written in Genesis about the four rivers: And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.(...
Read more