The Boker Tachtit archaeological excavation site in Israel’s central Negev desert offers a glimpse into one of the most significant events in human history: the migration of modern humans, Homo sapiens, from Africa into Eurasia and the subsequent decline of Neanderthal populations in the region. After nearly four decades since its initial excavation, researchers from the Weizmann Institute of Science and the Max Planck Society, led by Prof. Elisabetta Boaretto and Dr. Omry Barzilai of the Israel Antiquities Authority, returned to Boker Tachtit armed with advanced sampling and dating techniques. Their findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), provide a new chronological framework for this pivotal chapter in our anthropological evolution.
The “recent African origin” theory posits that Homo sapiens emerged in Africa around 270,000 years ago and subsequently dispersed across the globe via various routes, including through the Levant into Eurasia. Boker Tachtit, nestled in the Wadi Zin basin within what is now the Ein Avdat National Park, is a crucial site for tracing this migration. It represents a pivotal period in human prehistory: the transition from the Middle to Upper Paleolithic eras, marked by technological innovations and the rise of modern human culture.
The significance of Boker Tachtit was first highlighted by American archaeologist Anthony Marks, who excavated the site in the early 1980s. Marks described it as a transitional industry bridging the Middle and Upper Paleolithic periods, dating it to approximately 47,000 years ago based on a single radiocarbon date. However, subsequent radiocarbon dating efforts yielded conflicting results, with some suggesting dates as recent as 34,000 years ago. This inconsistency raised questions about the timing and duration of the transition.
To address these uncertainties, Prof. Boaretto, Dr. Barzilai, and their team employed cutting-edge dating methods during their 2013-2015 excavations. These methods included high-resolution radiocarbon dating of individual charcoal samples and optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz sand grains. By integrating these data with detailed sediment analyses, the researchers constructed a refined chronological framework for Boker Tachtit.
Their findings indicate that the Middle-to-Upper Paleolithic transition at Boker Tachtit occurred approximately 50-49,000 years ago, ending around 44,000 years ago. This timeline aligns more closely with evidence from other sites in the region and suggests that the transition was a relatively rapid process. Importantly, it places Boker Tachtit as the earliest known site for this transition in the Levant, marking it as a crucial hub for the spread of modern human culture.
Moreover, the new dating scheme reveals an intriguing overlap between the early phase of the Upper Paleolithic at Boker Tachtit and the presence of Neanderthals in the region during the Middle Paleolithic. This coexistence suggests not only genetic interbreeding between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens but also cultural exchange. The interaction between these two hominin species likely shaped the cultural landscape of the Negev desert, leaving behind a rich archaeological record for researchers to explore.
Source: Weizmann Institute of Science