This fossil jawbone found in Israel represents the oldest known human outside of Africa, dated to about 180,000 years ago.
Oldest Human Fossil Outside Africa Discovered
Part of an upper jaw found in Israel reveals that our species began making forays out of Africa more than 50,000 years earlier than thought.
Part of an upper jaw with teeth found in Israel shows that modern humans ventured out of Africa much earlier than previously thought. The find adds to evidence that our species was overlapping with human relatives such as Neanderthals in the crossroads of the Levant for longer than previously realized.
Until recently, the fossil record suggested that our species, Homo sapiens, first appeared in East Africa around 200,000 years ago. While a larger wave of migration didn’t leave the continent until 50,000 to 60,000 years ago, small numbers of modern humans made forays outside of Africa as far back as 120,000 years ago, based on the known fossils. (Explore a map of human migration.)
Then, last June, research on fossils
