There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
A) Plan view of the Alathar paleolake deposits with researchers indicated by white arrowheads. B) First stratigraphic section (units FS1 to FS3). C) Second stratigraphic section (units SS1 to SS3) overlying the first but located toward the center of the paleolake. D and E) Example of an elephant track and trackway, Proboscipeda isp. F) Camelid trackway, Lamaichnum isp. G) Camelid forefoot. H) Camelid hindfoot. I) Equid track, Hippipeda isp. J) Bovid axis vertebra eroding out of the paleolake sediment. Photo credit: Gilbert Price, The University of Queensland and Richard Clark-Wilson, Royal Holloway, University of London.
“Based on fossils found in Ethiopia, for the past 50 years scientists have believed that modern humans appeared in Africa, the “cradle of humanity,” roughly 160,000-200,000 years ago. The earliest record of migration outside of Africa was dated to around 90,000-120,000 years ago, through fossils discovered at digs in Israel’s Skhul and Qafzeh caves almost 90 years ago.
With this Misliya cave jawbone, however, the history of human evolution is being rewritten.
“The entire narrative of the evolution of Homo sapiens must be pushed back by at least 100,000-200,000 years,” said Hershkovitz, the head of the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research at TAU’s Steinhardt Museum of Natural History.
The Misliya fossil not only resets the date for Homo sapien evolution and migration, but also spurs the mind-blowing implication that modern humanity did not evolve independently but rather alongside — and intermingled with — many other hominin groups, such as Neanderthals, he said.”
The 177,000 to 194,000-year-old maxilla (upper jaw) of Misliya-1 hominin, credit: Israel Hershkovitz, Tel Aviv University
*This image is copyright of its original author
Typical Early Middle Paleolithic flint points found together with Misliya-1, credit: Mina Weinstein Evron, University of Haifa
*This image is copyright of its original author
Misliyah Cave, where a jawbone complete with teeth was recently discovered dating to 177,000–194,000 years ago, credit: Mina Weinstein-Evron, University of Haifa
*This image is copyright of its original author
The cliff of Megadim, with the cave in the middle, by Hanay (5th of December, 2009):
*This image is copyright of its original author
Location of early modern human fossils in Africa and the Middle East, credit: Rolf Quam, Binghamton University, USA/NASA image
Laetoli, by Guston Sondin-Klausnerser (late February, 2006):
Test-pit L8 at Laetoli Site S. In the northern part of the test-pit (at the top), the Footprint Tuff is particularly altered, damaged by plant roots and dislodged along natural fractures. Image by Fidelis T. Masao et al. (14th of December, 2016): https://elifesciences.org/articles/19568
Cast of the "Laetoli footprints", on display in the Hall of Human Origins in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. The entire footprint trail is 88 feet (26.82 m) long and includes impressions left by two individuals, with the smaller one appearing to be that of a human, and the bigger one (which had a diverging toe, similar to a modern ape) appearing to be that of an australopithecine (like perhaps Australopithecus afarensis). Image by Tim Evanson (17th of May, 2012): https://www.flickr.com/photos/23165290@N00/7282890638/
Three dimensional scans of experimental footprints and a Laetoli footprint, by D. A. Raichlen et al., contours are 1 mm: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/articl...09769.g001 A) Contour map of modern human footprint (Subject 6) walking with a normal, extended limb gait and side view of normal, extended limb footprint. B) Contour map of modern human footprint (Subject 6) walking with a BKBH gait and side view of BKBH print. C) Contour map of Laetoli footprint (G1-37) and side view of Laetoli footprint (G1-37). Note the difference in heel and toe depths between modern humans walking with extended and BKBH gaits. Laetoli has similar toe relative to heel depths as the modern human extended limb print.
Shaded 3D photogrammetric elevation model of the L8 trackway. Colour renders heights as in the colour bar. The empty circles indicate the position of the targets of the 3D-imaging control point system (see "Materials and methods" for details). Other images can be seen in this work by Fidelis T. Masao et al.: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.19568.008
Interpretation of a diagramatics of the hominin footprint in Laetoli, which is thought to be from A. afarensis; Ileret (1.5 mya) from Homo erectus, and H. sapiens. The green lines represent the points under the same pressure or weight. As published by Gustavo Carra (13th of October, 2009) in Science, volume 323, page 1197:
