A cave near Foreidis has sat sealed for hundreds of thousands of years, and researchers say it is now offering a rare record of a poorly documented phase of human evolution.
Archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa are excavating the site on the outskirts of Foreidis, near the Zichron Yaakov junction. They date it to between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago.
The excavation is led by archaeologist Kobi Vardi and Amit Gabay, together with Professor Ron Schimmelmitz.
The team describes the cave as one of the most significant discoveries of recent decades for understanding a stage in human evolution for which very little evidence has survived. According to the researchers, its state of preservation makes it a genuine “time capsule” that can provide information that is hard to obtain at other sites in the region.
The cave is linked to the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture, a technological tradition characteristic of the Levant during the late Lower Palaeolithic.
The period predates the spread of Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans. Researchers say it was a time of major change in how people lived, related to each other and adapted to their environment.
According to Schimmelmitz, behaviours began to appear during these millennia that later became common among human populations. These included the formation of larger groups, the long-term occupation of specific places and a more complex social organisation.
Evidence from the cave also points to intensive use of fire and relatively long stays in caves. The researchers say those patterns are usually associated with greater cooperation between individuals and the systematic transmission of knowledge within communities.
They believe these changes laid some of the cultural and technological foundations that later characterised Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Among the finds already documented are numerous flint tools made using techniques the researchers describe as advanced for the time. Archaeologists have identified small hand axes, scrapers and cutting blades made with great precision.
The excavation has also revealed animal bones from species including horses, deer and wild asses. Researchers also found traces indicating the presence of water in the surrounding area, which would have made the site attractive to hunter-gatherer groups.
Vardi compared the scientific importance of the discovery to the renowned Nahal Me’arot site, which is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is also important to the study of prehistory in the Levant.
The Israel Antiquities Authority and the University of Haifa plan an extensive research program to reconstruct in greater detail how these human groups lived, how they used the resources available to them and how their technologies evolved.
Once the studies are completed, the institutions hope to prepare the site for public visits for local residents, students and visitors interested in human evolution.
Read more from Euro News.
