G8
Amud Man and his cave site, Israel

The 1961 excavations of the late Middle Paleolithic site of Amud Cave, northern Israel, resulted in a remarkable discovery of one nearly complete adult Neanderthal skeleton (Amud 1) and a couple of fragmentary remains (Amud 2–4). Amud 1, a young adult male in a flexed position (est. 25 years old), is thought to have come from a burial. It has an extraordinarily large skull (est. 1740cc) with a long and low cranial cap, a round posterior profile, a large and anterior-positioned midface, relatively large anterior dentitions, and a retromolar space in the mandible. In addition to these features in common with classic Neanderthals, Amud 1 also exhibits more advanced or intermediate characteristics shared with modern humans: a high stature with long arms and legs (est. 178cm), a large mastoid process, a faintly developed chin, and a retrogressive supraorbital torus.

On the basis of these anatomical features, the excavators once identified Amud 1 as representative of hominins in transition from Neanderthals to anatomically modern humans. This interpretation was abandoned in the 1980s with the identification of even older modern human fossils in Israel. However, the unique nature of the Amud Neanderthals still requires proper interpretation in the context of their geographic position, which lies at the border between the distribution of European Neanderthals and African modern humans during the Middle Paleolithic. (Yoshihiro Nishiaki & Osamu Kondo)

References

Ohnuma, K. (1992). The significance of Layer B (Square 8-19) of the Amud Cave (Israel) in the Levantine Levalloiso-Mousterian. In: The Evolution and Dispersal of Modern Humans in Asia, edited by Akazawa et al., pp. 83-106. Tokyo: Hokusensha.

Suzuki, H. & Takai, F (eds.) (1970) The Amud Man and His Cave Site. Tokyo: Academic Press of Japan.