Chamber in Manot Cave May Be The Earliest Ancient Ritual Site in Southwest Asia

Learn more about this ancient chamber and what our ancestors may have used if for 35,000 years ago.

By Monica Cull
Dec 9, 2024 8:15 PMDec 9, 2024 8:19 PM
manot cave 1
(Credit: Assaf Peretz, Israel Antiquities Authority) A large cavern deep in Manot Cave served as a ritual gathering space.

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A cave in Israel may have once been a ritualistic gathering site for early humans some 35,000 years ago, likely making it the earliest ritual site in Southwest Asia. The multifaceted research team found the ritualistic evidence in Manot Cave — a famous excavation site in Galilee, Israel.

The cave is most notable for the discovery of a 55,000-year-old humanoid skull by a team from Case Western Reserve. The skull helped provide evidence that Homo sapiens and Neanderthals interbred.

The cave provided shelter for H. sapiens and Neanderthals for thousands of years, and the findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could help us understand more about their social interactions. 

A Spiritual Figure

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