Jebel Irhoud
Jebel Irhoud (or Adrar Ighud, Berber: Adrar n Iɣud) is an archaeological site. It is just north of Tlet Ighoud, about 50 km (30 mi) south-east of Safi in Morocco.
| Adrar Ighud | |
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| Alternate name | جبل إيغود |
|---|---|
| Location | East of Safi. |
| Region | Morocco |
| Coordinates | 31°51′18″N 8°52′21″W / 31.85500°N 8.87250°WCoordinates: 31°51′18″N 8°52′21″W / 31.85500°N 8.87250°W |
| Height | 592 m |
| History | |
| Periods | Lower Paleolithic |
| Associated with | Homo sapiens |
| Site notes | |
| Excavation dates | 1991 |
The site is noted for the hominin fossils that have been found there since its discovery in 1960. Originally thought to be Neanderthals, the specimens have since been assigned to Homo sapiens and have been dated to roughly 300,000 years ago (286±32 ka for the Irhoud 3 mandible, 315±34 ka based on other fossils and the flint artefacts found nearby).[1][2]
Jebel Irhoud Media
Jean-Jacques Hublin at Jebel Irhoud (Morocco), pointing to the crushed human skull (Irhoud 10), whose orbits are visible just beyond his finger tip
A composite reconstruction of the earliest-known Homo sapiens fossils from Jebel Irhoud, based on micro-computed tomographic scans of multiple original fossils
References
- ↑ The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age. Nature 546 (7657) (8 June 2017). p. 293–296. doi:10.1038/nature22335. "Here we report the ages, determined by thermoluminescence dating, of fire-heated flint artefacts obtained from new excavations at the Middle Stone Age site of Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, which are directly associated with newly discovered remains of H. sapiens8. A weighted average age places these Middle Stone Age artefacts and fossils at 315 ± 34 thousand years ago. Support is obtained through the recalculated uranium series with electron spin resonance date of 286 ± 32 thousand years ago for a tooth from the Irhoud 3 hominin mandible.
- ↑ Callaway, Ewan. Oldest Homo sapiens fossil claim rewrites our species' history. Nature (7 June 2017). doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22114. Retrieved 5 July 2017.