A remarkable fossil rewrites early human ancestry.

An extraordinary discovery has emerged from Skhul Cave on Mount Carmel in northern Israel, where a child’s remains, dated to about 140,000 years ago, show an unexpected blend of anatomical traits. While most ancient fossils clearly belong to one human species or another, this one appears to carry features of both modern humans and their archaic relatives, suggesting a hybrid origin. As scientists revisit its CT scans and three-dimensional models, this find invites us to rethink how early human groups met, mingled and sometimes merged in ways far richer than we realised.



