Archaeologists in Israel have discovered a cave used by pre-Neanderthal human-like creatures who lived as long as 400,000 years ago, making it one of only a handful of sites from the little-known period accessible to scientists.Located on the outskirts of a town called Fureidis in northern Israel, the cave was due to be affected by construction work when archaeologists decided to investigate it.Researchers in the 1970s originally thought the cave was used around 200,000 years ago, archaeologist Kobi Vardi of the Israel Antiquities Authority told CNN on Thursday.AdvertisementAdvertisementHowever, Vardi and his colleague Ron Shimelmitz, an associate professor in archaeology at the University of Haifa, have now discovered that it was inhabited up to 400,000 years ago.An ancient fallow deer tooth found at the cave – Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities AuthorityThey determined this after finding flint tools, such as hand axes, scrapers and blades, that are characteristic of the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture of pre-Neanderthal hominins who lived in the area at the time.Vardi told CNN that “it was a big surprise” to find that the cave was much older than previously thought. It would have been used by members of the Acheulo-Yabrudian culture, who inhabited the Levant, or the Near East, around 400,000-250,000 years ago.The team also found bones from animals such as fallow deer and gazelle.AdvertisementAdvertisementThis suggests large groups of hominins lived together in the caves, hunting wild animals and using fire, “suggesting complex and rich camp life,” Shimelmitz said in a statement published by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs on June 11.However, to date no significant human remains have been found in any of the caves that have been discovered from …
