When you buy through links on our web site , we may gain an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it works .
Along a flow in Tajikistan , archaeologists have discovered a rock - tax shelter that may have been a migration internet site forNeanderthals , Denisovansandmodern humansover a span of 130,000 years .
archaeologist have long known that modern humans and our close relatives trek through the so - bid Inner Asian Mountain Corridor ( IAMC ) of Central Asia during the Stone Age . Over the years , researchers have investigated the cadaver of Neanderthals and evidence of Denisovans and innovative humans in this region , " making the IAMC a location where the three human metapopulations could have forgather and interacted , " research worker wrote in a new report , published Nov. 4 in the journalAntiquity .
Archaeologists unearthed stone tools and animal bones that had been at the site for more than 100,000 years.
However , this " this region is still comparatively under explored , " they add .
" This neighborhood may have served as a migration itinerary for several human metal money , such as modernHomo sapiens , Neanderthals , or Denisovans , which may have coexist in this expanse , " study first authorYossi Zaidner , a older lecturer at the Institute of Archaeology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , said in a command . " Our enquiry aims to reveal who were the humans that populate these parts of the Central Asia and the nature of their interaction . "
To inquire , Zaidner and confrere looked for Stone Age sites along the Zeravshan River , a major river in Central Asia . They ended up excavate two Stone Age sites with multiple layers , indicating that different human being had occupied these spots at unlike time .
The archaeological site is close to the Zeravshan River, a major route on the Silk Road during the Middle Ages.
Related : Why did Homo sapiens survive all other human species ?
In 2023 , the team excavated one of these internet site , named Soii Havzak , which is situated along a lowly confluent of the Zeravshan River . They dig three trench there , expose a divers array of Lucy Stone tools ; include craft flint , blades and John Rock flakes ; creature clappers ; and fusain and burnt Flint that pointed to ancient firing use that date to between 150,000 and 20,000 class ago .
" We hope that on-going inquiry at this site will reveal new penetration into how unlike human groups — like mod humans , Neanderthals and Denisovans — may have interact in this realm , " Zaidner said . " This breakthrough is a substantial step toward understand ancient human history in Central Asia . "
— desoxyribonucleic acid of ' Thorin , ' one of the last Neanderthals , finally sequenced , disclose inbreeding and 50,000 years of genetic isolation
— Did we kill the Neanderthals ? New inquiry may at last answer an eld - old question .
— Modern humans migrated into Europe in 3 waves , ' ambitious and provocative ' fresh field suggests
Ancient humans were n’t the only individuals who savour this area . The river valley would finally become a major road on the Silk Road , connecting culture likeChinaand theRoman Empireacross continents , harmonise to the statement .
There is still much to be learned about the interaction between different human specie during theMiddle Paleolithic , which lasted from about 300,000 to 30,000 years ago . This archaeological site give a unique opportunity to look into how innovative humans and their close relatives may have interacted . The landscape painting of the Zeravshan Valley may have serve as a pregnant migration area for human populations , including the banquet of earlyHomo sapiensfrom Africa into Asia during this time , harmonize to the statement .
