Jebel Irhoud

Jebel Irhoud
Adrar n Iɣud / ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵉⵖⵓⴷ
Jebel Irhoud 1. Homo sapiens, dated close to 300,000-315,000 years old
Jebel Irhoud-1, dated 286±32 kya,[1] Smithsonian Natural History Museum
Jebel Irhoud
Jebel Irhoud
Location in Morocco
Alternative nameجبل إيغود
LocationEast of Safi
RegionMorocco
Coordinates31°51′18″N 8°52′21″W / 31.85500°N 8.87250°W / 31.85500; -8.87250
Height592 m
History
PeriodsLower Paleolithic
Associated withHomo sapiens
Site notes
Excavation dates1991

Jebel Irhoud or Adrar n Ighoud (Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⴰⴷⵔⴰⵔ ⵏ ⵉⵖⵓⴷ, romanized: Adrar n Iɣud; Arabic: جبل إيغود, Moroccan Arabic: žbəl iġud), is an archaeological site located just north of the town of Tlet Ighoud in Youssoufia Province, approximately 50 km (30 mi) south-east of the city of Safi in Morocco. It is noted for the hominin fossils that have been found there since the discovery of the site in 1960. Originally thought to be Neanderthals, the specimens have since been assigned to Homo sapiens and, as reported in 2017, 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).[2][3][4][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference NAT-20170607a was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^
    • Richter, Daniel; Grün, Rainer; Joannes-Boyau, Renaud; Steele, Teresa E.; Amani, Fethi; Rué, Mathieu; Fernandes, Paul; Raynal, Jean-Paul; Geraads, Denis; Ben-Ncer, Abdelouahed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques; McPherron, Shannon P. (8 June 2017). "The age of the hominin fossils from Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, and the origins of the Middle Stone Age". Nature. 546 (7657): 293–296. Bibcode:2017Natur.546..293R. doi:10.1038/nature22335. PMID 28593967. S2CID 205255853.
    • "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.";
    • Smith, Tanya M.; Tafforeau, Paul; Reid, Donald J.; Grün, Rainer; Eggins, Stephen; Boutakiout, Mohamed; Hublin, Jean-Jacques (10 April 2007). "Earliest evidence of modern human life history in North African early Homo sapiens". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 104 (15): 6128–6133. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.6128S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0700747104. PMC 1828706. PMID 17372199.
  3. ^ Callaway, Ewan (7 June 2017). "Oldest Homo sapiens fossil claim rewrites our species' history". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2017.22114. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  4. ^ McNish, James (7 June 2017). "Oldest known Homo sapiens fossils discovered in Morocco". Natural History Museum, London. Retrieved 1 November 2022.
  5. ^ "The first of our kind: scientists discover the oldest Homo sapiens fossils at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco". Southern Cross University. 8 June 2017. Archived from the original on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2022.