Apidima ( Greek Σπήλαιο πήδημα ) is a complex of four small caves [1] on the western shore of the Mani peninsula in southern Greece . An archaeological study of the cave revealed fossils of a Neanderthal and a man of a reasonable Paleolithic era [2] [3] . The fossil remains of H. sapiens for 2019 are the earliest known specimen of modern man outside Africa , more than 150 thousand years older than previous finds in Europe [4] [5] .
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Description
Apidym Cave Complex is a karst caves located on the western shore of the Mani peninsula in southern Greece [6] . They are formed by erosion in the middle Triassic-Late Eocene [7] [7] . The complex consists of four small caves, denoted by the letters "A", "B", "C" and "D" [1] .
Currently, the caves are located high above the waterline on the surface of a large limestone sea cliff and are accessible only by boat [8] . But during the Ice Age, when the sea level was more than 100 meters lower, several caves around the world (including Apidima), which are now flooded or in the zone of the waves, were high above sea level and were occupied by early people [9] .
Archeology
The Apidime research program began in 1978. It is held by the National Archaeological Museum of Greece in collaboration with the Laboratory of Historical Geology and Paleontology of the University of Athens , the Institute of Geology and Mineral Development and the University of Aristotle in Thessaloniki [3] .
Since 1978, Theodore Pitsios together with his team collected about 20 thousand bones, fragments of bones and teeth of various fauna on this site. Of these, several bones of animals with probable traces of cutting [7] , as well as two fossils of H. sapiens , dug out from under a dense layer of breccia at a height of 4 meters above sea level [7] .
In 1978, researchers discovered two remarkable skulls in Apidym "A" cave. They received the names ΛΑΟ1 / Σ1 [10] (Apidima 1) and ΛΑΟ1 / Σ2 [10] (Apidima 2) [11] [12] . Stone tools were found in all four caves [8] .
Studies published in July 2019 showed that a fragment of the skull of Apidym 2 [1] has a Neanderthal morphology , and is dated using uranium-thorium dating [13] over 170 thousand years old [4] [14] [15] . The skull of Apidym 1 is a mixture of the features of modern and primitive man, and was recognized as older, dated by age - using the same method - more than 210 thousand years [11] , which is more than 150 thousand years older than the previous H. sapiens, found in Europe [11] [14] [16] [17] . This makes Apidima 1 the most ancient evidence of Homo sapiens outside of Africa [4] [11] [16] [18] .
Lead Researcher, Katerina Harvati , summed up: “Our results show that at least two groups of people lived in the territory of modern southern Greece in the Middle Pleistocene: the population of early Homo sapiens , which was replaced by Neanderthal” [19] . Harvati reported that the team will try to extract ancient DNA from the fossil remains, but it does not really hope for success [18] . In addition, a paleoproteome analysis of ancient proteins can be performed if enough samples can be obtained [2] .
French anthropologist describes the skulls of Apidymus as transitional between Homo erectus and Neanderthals [10] .
See also
- Early human migration
- List of fossil remains
- Prehistoric Carpatho-Balkan region
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 K .; Harvati. Conference Report: Paleoanthropology of the Mani Peninsula (Greece) (Eng.) // Journal of Human Evolution : journal. - 1999. - Vol. 36 , no. 3 - P. 343-348 . - DOI : 10.1006 / jhev.1998.0284 .
- ↑ 1 2 Eric; Delson. Ansarcian scorpion from a scorching greek cave has shed light on it. One of them is found outside of Africa; Neanderthal who lived 40,000 years later. (English) // Nature : journal. - 2019. - 10 July. - DOI : 10.1038 / d41586-019-02075-9 .
- ↑ 1 2 Apidima Cave. Accessed on 10 July 2019.
- 2 1 2 3 Earliest found outside of Africa. BBC News . 10 July 2019.
- ↑ Sample . He is the oldest human fossil outside of Africa - found on July 10, 2019. The appeal date is July 11, 2019.
- ↑ Katerina; Harvati. New Neanderthal remains from Mani Peninsula, Southern Greece: The Kalamakia Middle Paleolithic cave site (Eng.) // Journal of Human Evolution : journal. - 2013. - Vol. 64 , no. 6 - P. 486-499 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2013.02.002 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Evangelia; Tsoukala. Quarternary large mammals from the Apidima Caves (Lakonia, S Peloponnese, Greece) (Eng.) // Beiträge zur Paläontologie: journal. - 1999. - Vol. 24 - P. 207–229 .
- ↑ 1 2 Signals of Evolution in the Territory of Greece. Paleoanthropological Findings. Christos Valsamis. Intensive Course in Biological Anthropology. 1st Summer School of the European Anthropological Association. 16-30 June, 2007, Prague, Czech Republic.
- ↑ Flemming, Nic. Prehistoric Archaeology, Palaeontology, and Climate Change Indicators from the Submersion of the Sea Levels // The Archaeology of Underwater Caves / Nic Flemming, Fabrizio Antonioli. - Southampton: Highfield Press, 2017. - ISBN 978-0992633677 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 S. Drobyshevsky. Hugs of Neanderthals and Sapiens in Greece. Sensation or curve reconstruction?
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Katerina Harvati. Apidima Cave fossils provide earliest evidence of Homo sapiens in Eurasia (eng.) // Nature : journal. - 2019. - Vol. in press . - DOI : 10.1038 / s41586-019-1376-z .
- ↑ Katerina; Harvati. Multivariate analysis and classification of the Apidima 2 cranium from Mani, Southern Greece (Eng.) // Journal of Human Evolution : journal. - 2011. - Vol. 60 , no. 2 - P. 246-250 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2010.09.008 .
- ↑ Waters . Mysterious 210,000-Year-Old Apidima Skull Could Re-Write Human History , AncientPages.com (July 11, 2019). The appeal date is July 12, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Zimmer . The New Year of the Fossil ever discovered in Europe. It hints that humans began to go far earlier than once thought. , The New York Times (July 10, 2019). The appeal date is July 11, 2019.
- ↑ Antonis; Bartsiokas. U-series dating and classification of the Apidima 2 hominin from Mani Peninsula, Southern Greece (Eng.) // Journal of Human Evolution : journal. - 2017. - Vol. 109 . - P. 22-29 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2017.04.008 .
- ↑ 1 2 Yong . The Story of Humans is the oldest homo sapiens fossil found outside of Africa. , The Atlantic (July 10, 2019). The appeal date is July 10, 2019.
- ↑ Staff . Resettlement reset clock , Phys.org (10 July 2019). The appeal date is July 10, 2019.
- 2 1 2 Some Apidima Skull Is Earliest Homo Sapiens Outside Africa, Say Researchers. Gemma Tarlach, Discover . July 10, 2019.
- ↑ de Lazaro . Homo sapiens Reached Europe 210,000 Years Ago , Sci-News (July 11, 2019). The appeal date is July 12, 2019.
Links
- Apidym Cave in Mani
- Institute of Evolutionary Anthropology. Max Planck
- Human Chronology (interactive) - Smithsonian Institution , National Museum of Natural History