Es Skhul

Skhul (Arabic Mugharet es- Skhul for: Cave of goats fawns ) is the name of a cave in what is now the nature reserve Nahal Me'arot in Mount Carmel (Israel ) at Athlit, about 20 kilometers south of Haifa. Excavations on the forecourt of the cave under the direction of Theodore Doney McCown 1931 and 1932 significant graves of anatomically modern humans were exposed (Homo sapiens) in years. The small karst cave and the corresponding square on the southern edge of the valley lie the Wadi el Mugharet ( Valley of the Caves ), which emerges in a westerly direction from the Carmel mountain range towards the Mediterranean coast. About 100 meters down in the Wadi is the Tabun Cave, even closer to the edge of the valley same cave el- Wad ( Mugharet el- Wad ) with the front located Natufian - free- find spot El- Wad.

Fund history

The name of the cave dates back to shepherd the goats fawns imprisoned here after weaning from their mothers in order to keep them in a weaning except hearing and vision of the flock. The small cave was investigated in 1928 by Dorothy Garrod, but without result. Theodore D. McCown, then Assistant Professor of Garrod, discovered during systematic excavations in 1931 and 1932 in layers of flachmuldig shaped forecourt of the cave nine graves ( Skhul I to IX ), which were then called Mount Carmel Neanderthals. They originate from the layer B of Mousteriens, the middle layer of the three-part stratigraphic sequence. Later, other bones were recovered, which are attributable to at least one other individual. In 1939, the human fossils of Arthur Keith and Theodore McCown described monograph. Missing bone sections were added after the preparation part, without concrete evidence, so that today it is difficult sometimes to reconstruct the anatomical original condition.

The most incompletely preserved tombs I to X contained the following fossil bones:

• Skhul I: skull roof of a child, partially dentate without facial bones, with partially preserved mandible, the molar M1 is not yet erupted ( best with Skhul V fossil preservation )
• Skhul II: fragments of the skull of an adult and fragments of the associated mandible
• Skhul III: Parts of the left leg of an adult, probably male individual
• Skhul IV: an almost completely preserved skeleton of a presumably male adults with severely fragmented skull, facial bones, incomplete and almost completely bezahntem mandible
• Skhul V: a largely complete preserved skull of an older adult with completely preserved, heavily chewed maxillary teeth and heavily fragmented mandible
• Skhul VI: Parts of the skeleton of an estimated 30 to 35 years man
• Skhul VII: parts of the skeleton of an estimated 35 to 40 years woman
• Skhul VIII: leg bone of a child
• Skhul IX: parts of the skeleton of an estimated 50 years of man
• Skhul X: parts of the lower jaw and teeth and arm bones of a child

Dating and interpretation of the findings

For age of the finds in the literature different precautions. 1998 yielded a thermoluminescence dating of layer B for example, 119,000 ± 18,000 years; an electron spin resonance dating had shown previously a maximum of 101,000 ± 12,000 and 81,000 ± 15,000 years minimum. This dating quasi collectively - - As a age therefore sometimes listed 80000-120000 Years, 80,000 to 100,000 years, or it can be specified as approximate 100,000 years.

Fossils came to light in three different ages Fund layers that could be differentiated from each other among other things, due to a different composition wildlife; all hominin fossils come from the Fund layer B. These fossils were due to the initial interpretation of thousands also found stone tools of the Levalloiso - Mousterian designated "hybrid" culture assigned because at that time even from an older stage of the " Levalloisian " ( culture with Levallois ) and a letztglazialen Mousterian was considered as a tool culture of the Neanderthals. It was also - primarily by Arthur Keith - argued that the construction of the bones found talking that designated as Neanderthal remains from the Tabun Cave and the Amud Cave and in particular the findings Skhul IV, V and IX represented a single species, the 1939 was designated palestinus by McCown and Keith as Palaeoanthropus. The existing differences between the fossils from different caves were interpreted as intraspecific variability as a result of a rapidly evolving lineage. However, already in 1939 - not completely ruled out that the discovered in the Carmel Mountains fossils could possibly represent two related taxa - at the initiative of Theodore McCowns: McCown had the finds from the Tabun Cave - from today's perspective - perceived as more " neanderthaloid " ( similar to the Neanderthals ) interpreted the findings of Skhul rather than the Cro -Magnons related parties.

Today the cave is considered mainly as a burial place of early anatomically modern humans who lived at the same time or in multiple temporal change with Neanderthals in the Carmel Mountains; However, this kind of mapping is still controversial.