Skhul Cave

Es Skhul (meaning kids ) is a cave site situated c. 20 kilometers south of the city of Haifa , Israel , and c. 3 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea . The prehistoric site, was first excavated by Dorothy Garrod in the summer of 1928. The excavations revealed the first evidence of the late Epipalaeolithic Natufian culture, characterised by the presence of abundant microliths , human burials and ground stone tools. Skhul also represents one area where Neanderthals - present in the region from 200,000 - 45,000 years ago - lived alongside these humans dating to 100,000 years ago. The cave also has Middle Palaeolithic layers.

Es Skhul (meaning kids ) is a cave site situated c. 20 kilometers south of the city of Haifa , Israel , and c. 3 kilometers from the Mediterranean Sea . The prehistoric site, was first excavated by Dorothy Garrod in the summer of 1928. The excavations revealed the first evidence of the late Epipalaeolithic Natufian culture, characterised by the presence of abundant microliths , human burials and ground stone tools. Skhul also represents one area where Neanderthals - present in the region from 200,000 - 45,000 years ago - lived alongside these humans dating to 100,000 years ago. The cave also has Middle Palaeolithic layers. The remains found at Es Skhul, together with those found at the Wadi el-Mughara Caves and Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh , were classified in 1939 by Arthur Keith and Theodore D. McCown as Palaeoanthropus palestinensis , a descendent of Homo heidelbergensis . The Palaeolithic Origins of Human Burial , Paul Pettitt, 2013, p59 Human Adaptation in the Asian Palaeolithic: Hominin Dispersal and Behaviour during the Late Quaternary , Ryan J. Rabett, 2012, p90 The stone age of Mount Carmel : report of the Joint Expedition of the British School of Archaeology in Jerusalem and the American School of Prehistoric Research, 1929-1934 , p18

Es-Skhul ( es-Skhūl , ; meaning kid , young goat ) is a prehistoric cave site situated about 20 km (12.4 mi) south of the city of Haifa , Israel , and about 3 km (1.9 mi) from the Mediterranean Sea . The site was first excavated by Dorothy Garrod during summer of 1928. The excavation revealed the first evidence of the late Epipaleolithic Natufian culture, characterized by the presence of numerous microlith stone tools, human burials and ground stone tools. Skhul also represents an area where Neanderthals – possibly present in the region from 200,000 to 45,000 years ago – may have lived alongside these humans dating to 100,000 years ago. The cave also has Middle Palaeolithic layers. The remains found at es-Skhul, together with those found at the Nahal Me'arot / Wadi el-Mughara Caves and Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh were classified in 1939 by Arthur Keith and Theodore D. McCown [ de ] as Palaeoanthropus palestinensis , a descendant of Homo heidelbergensis .

Prehistoric cave and archaeological site in Israel Es-Skhul ( es-Skhūl , ; meaning kid , young goat ) or the Skhul Cave is a prehistoric cave site situated about 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) south of the city of Haifa , Israel , and about 3 km (1.9 mi) from the Mediterranean Sea . Together with the nearby sites of Tabun Cave , Jamal cave , and the cave at El Wad , Skhul is part of the Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve , a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site . The site was first excavated by Dorothy Garrod during summer of 1929. Several human skeletons were found in the cave, belonging to an ancient species of Homo sapiens . Both Neanderthals and anatomically modern humans were present in the region from 200,000 to 45,000 years ago. The remains found at es-Skhul, together with those found at the other caves of Wadi el-Mughara and Mugharet el-Zuttiyeh , were classified in 1939 by Arthur Keith and Theodore D. McCown [ de ] as Palaeoanthropus palestinensis , a descendant of Homo heidelbergensis . National Parks and Nature Reserves . Israel Nature and Parks Authority .