by Israel has always been a bridge between cultures. Its unique location between Europe, Africa and Asia positioned it at the center of transportation and exchange of goods and ideas. This function goes way back to prehistory. In the last few years, paleo-archaeological sites in the Negev are reaching back into time to uncover a colossal meeting between Neanderthals and homo sapiens (modern man).
Scientists believe that Neanderthals were being forced out of Europe because of environmental changes. At the same time, sub-Saharan African homo sapiens were spreading out and heading north. The exact route of these journeys is hard to determine exactly. The only remains that were found in the Negev to date are their technologies so its hard to create a narrative of their meeting. Genetics today shows that 2% of non-sub-Saharan human DNA comes from Neanderthals, so there must have been some sort of contact.
The Negev would have been a rich source of flint for spear heads for early man. Today, even the casual visitor comes across areas of concentrations of flint shards on the ground. Careful examination of the technology involved in forming spear heads and their shape provides a clue into what this meeting between Neanderthals and Modern Man looked like in the Negev and whether it occurred here at all. A recent archaeological dig in Boker Tachtit, within the National Park of Ein Avdat, aims to look into this past. At the site are 4 layers of human settlement between 55,600 and 42,850 years ago. The results are still being examined at Weizmann Institute in Rechovot. Next time you are hiking in the Negev and you come across a seam of flint, look for shaped stones and wonder whether this was shaped by a Neanderthal, a homo sapiens, or like most of us, someone who has some of both.
Related Sites:
- Ein Avdat
- Ein Ekev
- Weizmann House and Institute
Israel by Leiah 
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