A new analysis of the neurocranium and mandible of the Skhūl I child: Taxonomic conclusions and cultural implications

Abstract

The first individual discovered at Skhūl Cave in 1931 on Mount Carmel in Israel was a child aged between 3 and 5 years, intentionally buried ca. 140 ka ago. The fossil was allocated to Homo sapiens, Homo neanderthalensis, or a hybrid of the two species, and is currently recognized as “Anatomically Modern Human”. The incomplete mandible inadvertently separated from the skeleton during excavation, has been reconstructed and consolidated with plaster and appears to be plesiomorphic, with a strong affinity to the Neanderthal clade. The absence of the mid-face and of a large part of the skull base makes its articulation impossible. A new study using CT scans of the neurocranium and mandible was therefore undertaken to clarify their association and taxonomic status. The right bony labyrinth and the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) of M1 have been virtually reconstructed for the current study and compared to other Homo fossils. The bony labyrinth was compared with two “Western” Neanderthals, La Ferrassie 1, La Quina H5 and one Homo sapiens, Cro-Magnon 1. The frontal squama was initially mispositioned and has been virtually realigned to a more anatomically accurate orientation through comparison with the Neandertal child Le Pech--’Azé. The shape of the bony labyrinth is anatomically modern, but the vault is low, the occipital is elongated with a slight nuchal plane, the foramen magnum is dorsally located, the anterior dentoalveolar shape of the mandible is characteristic of Neanderthal and there is no mentum osseum. The EDJ of M1 is plesiomorphic with a mid-trigonid crest also commonly seen in Neanderthals. Such mosaic of Homo sapiens, Neanderthals, and plesiomorphic characters are also seen in the post-cranial skeleton. The combination of features seen in Skhūl I may suggest that the child is a hybrid. In the Middle Pleistocene, the Levant was the crossroad of gene flows between Indigenous lineages and other taxa from Africa and Eurasia which is likely the explanation for Skhūl I anthropological. Therefore, contrary to the prevailing paradigm, the earliest known mortuary practices involving burials cannot be attributed exclusively to Homo sapiens over Homo neanderthalensis. A new chapter opens on both the origins and motivations of these rituals.