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Homo erectus

The Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa. (Michael Chazan at the University of Toronto)
June 17, 2026, 5:31 am
In African cave, Israeli and international scientists find signs of earliest use of fire
Evidence of burns was detected on fossilized bones deep in the Wonderwerk Cave, setting back the clock for intentional use of fire from 1 million years ago to close to 1.8 million
By Rossella Tercatin
A general view of the excavation of Gesher Benot Ya‘aqov Acheulian site in northern Israel dating to some 780,000 years ago. (GBY Expedition)
April 22, 2026, 4:12 pm
Rare ancient charcoal shows how prehistoric ‘Israelis’ were already grilling 780,000 years ago
A new study testifies to how hominins at Gesher Benot Ya’akov took advantage of their environment to fuel fires, showing advanced cognitive abilities
By Rossella Tercatin
Tel Aviv University Prof. Ran Barkai (left) and Sakhnin resident Muataz Shalata hold 500,000-year-old stone hand axes crafted with special materials featuring unique geological characteristics, in a discovery announced in March 2026. (Tel Aviv University)
March 22, 2026, 5:53 pm
Paleolithic chic: 500,000 years ago, Israel’s ancient toolmakers had a taste for sparkle
Rare hand axes from the Sakhnin Valley show Homo erectus picked fossil- and crystal-rich stones for visual appeal, hinting at early symbolic thinking, new study suggests
By Rossella Tercatin
Excavations at the prehistoric site of ‘Ubeidiya in the Jordan Valley, south of the Sea of Galilee, in images shared in April 2024. (Emil Aladjem/Israel Antiquities Authority)
February 22, 2026, 5:00 pm
New study puts hominins in Israel 1.9 million years ago, rewriting earliest human migration
Team redates prehistoric ‘Ubeidiya in Jordan Valley to same age as oldest Georgian site, suggesting at least two distinct groups of human ancestors left Africa at roughly the same time
By Rossella Tercatin
A reconstruction of a 1,600,000 years old Homo erectus based on a fossil specimen known as 'Turkana boy' is seen at the Neanderthal Museum in Mettmann, Germany, on July 3, 2019. (AMartin Meissner/AP)
February 25, 2021, 9:16 pm
Israeli researchers offer new theory on human brain evolution: We were hungry
Archaeologists suggest that as supplies of large animals declined through hunting, early Homo erectus developed the smarts needed to catch smaller, harder-to-trap prey
By Stuart Winer
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