Jebel Qafzeh remains

hominin fossils

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June 29, 2026

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Jebel Qafzeh, located south of Nazareth, Israel, is a significant paleoanthropological site. It is renowned for yielding some of the oldest modern human remains discovered in Asia, with over 25 fossil skeletons dating back approximately 90,000 years. These fossils, representing the largest group found from this period in the Middle East, were discovered alongside Middle Paleolithic tools. This tool type is typically associated with Neanderthals in Europe and southwestern Asia.1

The Qafzeh fossils bear a strong resemblance to ancestral African humans. Their presence suggests a temporary migration of modern humans into areas inhabited by Neanderthals during a warmer climatic period. The site of Tabun, also in Israel, provides further context, indicating that Neanderthals and early modern humans may have alternated occupation of the region during the Middle Paleolithic.12

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Homo sapiens
Bodily structure
One of the best-preserved early fossils that bears all the anatomic hallmarks of H. sapiens is a skull dated to about 92 kya from the Israeli site of Jebel Qafzeh. This part of the Middle East, called the Levant, is often regarded as a biogeographic extension of Africa, so…
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One of the best-preserved early fossils that bears all the anatomic hallmarks of H. sapiens is a skull dated to about 92 kya from the Israeli site of Jebel Qafzeh. This part of the Middle East, called the Levant, is often regarded as a biogeographic extension of Africa, so…
Read More