prehistory

Excavations at Toda Cave, 2019. Credit: Robert Spengler

9,200-year-old find challenges theories about the origins of agriculture

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An Israeli family from 140 years ago, drawn using AI. On the left - the Neanderthal father, in the middle the mixed-race daughter and on the right the mother - Homo sapiens. Courtesy of Tel Aviv University

Earliest evidence of interbreeding between Homo sapiens and Neanderthals discovered in Israel

For the first time in science, early biological connections between the two human groups that were considered two separate human species have been documented.
Prof. Ran Barkai holds a vertebra from an ancient elephant at the La Polderra site, Italy

On the fire, the stone version: When ancient man discovered the secret to smoking meat

Even a million years ago, people used to smoke meat to extend its shelf life.
7,000-year-old microscopic remains of a charred olive tree (Olea) discovered from Tel Tzaf (Photo: Dr. Dafna Langgot)

The world's earliest evidence of fruit tree domestication was discovered in the Jordan Valley

Joint research by Tel Aviv University and the Hebrew University reveals: Residents of Tel Zef grew olive and fig trees about 7,000 years ago – a sign of a rich and complex society
Shuba Cave, from the Upper Paleolithic period, France (Photo: Prof. Jean Clottes, France)

A solution to the scientific mystery: Why are there no cave paintings in Israel?

Researchers estimate: The extinction of large animals in the Levant is the reason why early man did not paint on cave walls in Israel
Illustration depicting Homo sapiens and Neanderthals sharing technology and behavior (Credit: Efrat Bakshitz)

Contrary to conventional scientific belief: Homo sapiens and Neanderthals were not enemies and even cooperated

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New research conducted in the Tanshemesh Cave in central Israel reveals that ancient humans lived together, shared technologies, and even maintained extensive cultural and social ties * Prof. Yossi Seidman of the Hebrew University, lead researcher
Figure 2 - Stone tools and hand stones from site MW2, all made of volcanic raw materials. Photo credit - Arela Hubers.

The adaptability and thinking of early hominins in Ethiopia 1.6–1 million years ago was developed

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The study examines how ancient humans chose and used different types of rocks to create tools, focusing on the archaeological site of Malacca and Kena in the Ethiopian highlands, one of the oldest high altitude settlement sites in the world
The discovery of the 555-million-year-old fossil *Uncus dzaugisi* in South Australia confirms their origins in the Precambrian period of the ecdysozoans, and bridges an important evolutionary gap. Photo courtesy of Harvard University

A 555-million-year-old fossil sheds light on one of the great mysteries of evolution

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The discovery of the oldest fossil from the Ecdysozoa family (Uncus dzaugisi), a group of animals characterized by shedding their skin and including insects, crustaceans and nematodes, sheds light on the early evolution of animals
Principal - one of the panels with ancient rock paintings in Colombia. Photo: University of Exeter

12,500 Years: Ancient Art in the Amazon Reveals Secrets of Prehistoric Ecology

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The famous prehistoric rock paintings of Tsili N'Air, Algeria. Illustration: depositphotos.com

The evolutionary changes following the extinction of the large animals

The need to hunt small animals caused prehistoric man to improve his mental abilities in order to perfect his hunting tools
Analysis of 10,000-year-old skeleton findings in the Judean Desert in the laboratory of Prof. Israel Hershkowitz, Tel Aviv University

Talking bones

Complete human skeletons may testify to the existence of different human groups in the Land of Israel 100,000 years ago and more
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