Scientists said on Thursday they had discovered a new kind of early human after studying pieces of fossilised bone dug up at a site used by a cement plant in central Israel.
Nesher Ramla Homo - named after the place southeast of Tel Aviv where it was found - may have lived alongside our species, Homo sapiens, for more than 100,000 years, and may have even interbred, according to the findings.
"The discovery of a new type of Homo is of great scientific importance," said Israel Hershkovitz of Tel Aviv University, one of the leaders of the team that analysed the remains.
"It enables us to make new sense of previously found human fossils, add another piece to the puzzle of human evolution, and understand the migrations of humans in the old world."
Dr Yossi Zaidner of the Hebrew University found the fossils while exploring the mining area of the Nesher cement plant near the city of Ramla, the universities said in their statement.
"This is what makes us suggest that this Nesher Ramla group is actually a large group that started very early in time and are the source of the European Neanderthal," said Hila May, a physical anthropologist at the Dan David Center and the Shmunis Institute of Tel Aviv University.
Experts have never been able to fully explain how Homo sapiens genes were present in the earlier Neanderthal population in Europe, May said, and the Nesher Ramla may be the mystery group responsible.
https://www.asiaone.com/world/meet-nesher-ramla-homo-new-early-human-discovered-israeli-cement-site
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