View source for Social:Nesher Ramla Homo

[[File:Video showing the reconstructed location of Nesher Ramla 1 on a skull.webm|250px|thumb|Video showing the reconstructed location of Nesher Ramla 1 on a skull]]
[[File:Nesher Ramla Homo fossils- a skull fragment and a lower jaw.jpg|thumb|Nesher Ramla Homo fossils- skull fragment and lower jaw]]
{{Short description|Extinct population of archaic humans}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:Nesher Ramla ''Homo''}}
The '''Nesher Ramla''' '''''Homo''''' group are an extinct population of [[Biology:Archaic humans|archaic humans]] who lived during the [[Earth:Middle Pleistocene|Middle Pleistocene]] in what is now modern-day [[Place:Israel|Israel]]. In 2010, evidence of a tool industry had been discovered during a year of archaeological excavations at the {{ill|Nesher Ramla|de|Nesher Ramla|he|נשר רמלה (אתר פלאוליתי)}} site. In 2021, the first Nesher Ramla ''Homo'' individual was identified from remains discovered during further excavations. 

==Taxonomy==
{{Location map many| Israel
| relief = yes
| caption = Locations of the Nesher Ramla remains, alongside locations of previously discovered human fossils that a team led by Zaidner in 2021 hypothesised as representing the same group <ref name="Zaidner"/>
| coordinates1 = {{coord|31.9079|34.9285}}
| label1 = Nesher Ramla
| coordinates2 = {{coord|32.11|34.98}}
| label2 = Qesem Cave
| coordinates3 = {{coord|32.855797|35.527210}}
| label3 = Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh
| coordinates4 = {{coord|32|40|13.80|N|34|57|55.80|E}}
| label4 = Tabun Cave
| float = right
}}
The Nesher Ramla site was discovered in a [[Earth:Karst|karst]] depression following quarrying from a nearby cement factory. The site was excavated by archaeologists between 2010–2011 and yielded artefacts in archaeological deposits from the [[Earth:Middle Paleolithic|Middle Paleolithic]] that were reported by D. Friesem, Y. Zaidner, and R. Shahack-Gross.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Friesem|first1=David E.|last2=Zaidner|first2=Yossi|last3=Shahack-Gross|first3=Ruth|date=8 May 2014|title=Formation processes and combustion features at the lower layers of the Middle Palaeolithic open-air site of Nesher Ramla, Israel|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618213001560|url-access=subscription|journal=Quaternary International|language=en|volume=331|pages=128–138|doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2013.03.023|bibcode=2014QuInt.331..128F|issn=1873-4553|oclc=67285037}}</ref> Evidence of a [[Engineering:Lithic technology|lithic]] [[Social:Industry (archaeology)|industry]] was found during the [[Social:Excavation (archaeology)|excavation]]. The artefacts from the site contained [[Biology:Levallois technique|Levallois]] tools and [[Engineering:Lithic core|lithic cores]].<ref>{{Citation|last1=Zaidner|first1=Yossi|title=An Open-Air Site at Nesher Ramla, Israel, and New Insights into Levantine Middle Paleolithic Technology and Site Use|date=2018|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-981-10-6826-3_2|url-access=subscription|work=The Middle and Upper Paleolithic Archeology of the Levant and Beyond|pages=11–33|editor-last=Nishiaki|editor-first=Yoshihiro|place=Singapore|publisher=Springer Singapore|language=en|doi=10.1007/978-981-10-6826-3_2|isbn=978-981-10-6825-6|last2=Centi|first2=Laura|last3=Prevost|first3=Marion|last4=Shemer|first4=Maayan|last5=Varoner|first5=Oz|editor2-last=Akazawa|editor2-first=Takeru|oclc=1203992920}}</ref>

Later excavations led by anthropologist Israel Hershkovitz in 2021 led to the discovery of five pieces of a braincase and a nearly-complete lower jaw. The remains were dated to 140–120 [[Year#Abbreviations yr and ya|kya]], during the Middle Pleistocene. 

Hershkovitz speculated that the specimen might be categorised as among the last survivors of a population that would contribute to the Neanderthals and East Asian ''[[Biology:Homo|Homo]]''.<ref name="Hershkovitz">{{Cite journal|last1=Hershkovitz|first1=Israel|last2=May|first2=Hila|last3=Sarig|first3=Rachel|last4=Pokhojaev|first4=Ariel|last5=Grimaud-Hervé|first5=Dominique|last6=Bruner|first6=Emiliano|last7=Fornai|first7=Cinzia|last8=Quam|first8=Rolf|last9=Arsuaga|first9=Juan Luis|last10=Krenn|first10=Viktoria A.|last11=Martinón-Torres|first11=Maria|date=25 June 2021|title=A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh3169|url-access=subscription|journal=Science|language=en|volume=372|issue=6549|pages=1424–1428|doi=10.1126/science.abh3169|s2cid=235628111|issn=0036-8075|oclc=1644869}}</ref> Philip Rightmire of [[Organization:Harvard University|Harvard University]] did not agree with the findings, believing instead that properly, the skull should be categorised as among early Neanderthals. Rightmire also discussed the possibility of a Neanderthal population having migrated to the area from [[Earth:Europe|Europe]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jones|first=Nicola|date=25 June 2021|title=Mysterious skull fossils expand human family tree — but questions remain|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=595|issue=7865|pages=20|doi=10.1038/d41586-021-01738-w|doi-access=free|pmid=34172962|issn=0028-0836|oclc=759932692}}</ref> Yoel Rak of [[Organization:Tel Aviv University|Tel Aviv University]] stated that the mandible bore characteristics typical of a Neanderthal, and that the specimen itself should be classified as a Neanderthal.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Marrom|first1=Assaf |last2=Rak |first2=Yoel |date=2 December 2021 |title=Comment on "A Middle Pleistocene Homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel" |journal=Science |volume=374 |issue=6572 |pages= eabl4336|doi-access=free|doi=10.1126/science.abl4336|pmid=34855484 |issn=0036-8075}}</ref>

==Artefacts==
[[File:Levallois flake from Nesher Ramla.jpg|200px|thumb|Levallois flake found at Nesher Ramla]]
More than 6,000 stone tools were excavated in the fossil-bearing sediment of the site. The Nesher Ramla ''Homo'' population mastered stone tool production technologies previously known among Neanderthals and ''Homo sapiens''. The team led by Zaidner interpreted the presence of this tool industry as evidence of cultural interactions between Nesher Ramla populations and ''Homo sapiens'' populations.<ref name="Zaidner">{{Cite journal|last1=Zaidner|first1=Yossi|last2=Centi|first2=Laura|last3=Prévost|first3=Marion|last4=Mercier|first4=Norbert|last5=Falguères|first5=Christophe|last6=Guérin|first6=Gilles|last7=Valladas|first7=Hélène|last8=Richard|first8=Maïlys|last9=Galy|first9=Asmodée|last10=Pécheyran|first10=Christophe|last11=Tombret|first11=Olivier|date=25 June 2021|title=Middle Pleistocene Homo behavior and culture at 140,000 to 120,000 years ago and interactions with Homo sapiens|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh3020|url-access=subscription|journal=Science|language=en|volume=372|issue=6549|pages=1429–1433|doi=10.1126/science.abh3020|s2cid=235628141|issn=0036-8075|oclc=1644869}}</ref>

==See also==
*{{annotated link|History:Denisovan}}
*{{annotated link|Biology:Homo luzonensis|''Homo luzonensis''}}
*{{annotated link|Biology:Homo naledi|''Homo naledi''}}
*{{annotated link|Biology:Homo floresiensis|''Homo floresiensis''}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite journal |last=Lahr |first=Marta Mirazón|date=25 June 2021|title=The complex landscape of recent human evolution |url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abj3077|journal=Science|volume=372|issue=6549|pages=1395–1396|url-access=subscription|doi=10.1126/science.abj3077|s2cid=235628105|issn=0036-8075|oclc=1644869}}
*{{cite journal |last=Sugden|first=Andrew|date=25 June 2021|title=Middle Pleistocene Homo in the Levant|url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.2021.372.6549.twis|url-access=subscription|journal=Science|volume=372|issue=6549|pages=1405–1407|doi=10.1126/science.372.6549.1405-o|s2cid=237866191 |issn=0036-8075|oclc=1644869}}

{{Human evolution}}

[[Category:Anthropology]]

{{Sourceattribution|Nesher Ramla Homo}}