The earliest modern humans outside Africa.
Israel HershkovitzGerhard W WeberRolf M QuamMathieu DuvalRainer GrünLeslie KinsleyAvner AyalonMiryam Bar-MatthewsHélène ValladasNorbert MercierJuan Luis ArsuagaMaría Martinón-TorresJosé María Bermúdez de CastroCinzia FornaiLaura Martín-FrancésRachel SarigHila MayViktoria A KrennViviane SlonLaura RodríguezRebeca García-GonzálezCarlos LorenzoJosé-Miguel CarreteroAmos FrumkinRuth Shahack-GrossDaniella E Bar-Yosef MayerYaming CuiXinzhi WuNatan PeledIris Groman-YaroslavskiLior WeissbrodReuven YeshurunAlexander TsatskinYossi ZaidnerMina Weinstein-EvronPublished in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2018)
To date, the earliest modern human fossils found outside of Africa are dated to around 90,000 to 120,000 years ago at the Levantine sites of Skhul and Qafzeh. A maxilla and associated dentition recently discovered at Misliya Cave, Israel, was dated to 177,000 to 194,000 years ago, suggesting that members of the Homo sapiens clade left Africa earlier than previously thought. This finding changes our view on modern human dispersal and is consistent with recent genetic studies, which have posited the possibility of an earlier dispersal of Homo sapiens around 220,000 years ago. The Misliya maxilla is associated with full-fledged Levallois technology in the Levant, suggesting that the emergence of this technology is linked to the appearance of Homo sapiens in the region, as has been documented in Africa.