It has long been postulated that the migration of Homo Sapiens from the Near East into Europe led directly to the massive decline of the Neanderthal. Now a new study and research conducted on a few teeth found in a cave in Western Galilee (Israel) points to a more complex story.
     A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University, the Israel Antiquities Authority and Ben-Gurion University have been analysing the genetic makeup of the teeth. What they have found is that they belonged to humans who were a genetic mix of Neanderthal and Homo Sapiens, showing an integration of the two species rather than the annihilation of one by the other. This is the first time evidence has been found of this Neanderthal/Homo sapiens generic mix outside of Europe.
     The teeth actually belonged to members of the Aurignacian culture which flourished in the Upper Palaeolithic period from 41,000 BCE to 24,000 BCE, originating in The Levant, which covered a geographic area crossing Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
     Professor Israel Hershkovitz, head of the Dan David Centre for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, at Tel Aviv University, is quoted as saying "Until now we hadn't found any human remains with valid dating from this period in Israel". He went on to add "This ground breaking study contributes to the story of the population responsible for some of the world's most important cultural contributions".

Edited from EurekAlert! and PhysORG (5 Nov 2019)