In Israel, researchers found early modern H. sapiens fossils, including the remains of at least 10 individuals, in the Skhul Cave at Mt. Carmel (Figs. 12-5 and 12-6a). Also from Israel, the Qafzeh Cave has yielded the remains of at least 20 individuals . Although their overall configuration is definitely modern, some specimens show certain premodern features. Skhul has been dated to between 130,000 and 100,000 ya (Grün et al., 2005), while Qafzeh has been dated to around 120,000–92,000 ya (Grün and Stringer, 1991). Such early dates for modern specimens pose some problems for those advocating the influence of local evolution, as proposed by the multiregional model.
How early do the premodern populations—that is, Neandertals— appear in the Near East? A recent chronometric calibration for the Tabun Cave suggests a date as early as 120,000 ya. This dating for these sites, all located very close to each other, suggests that there’s considerable chronological overlap in the occupation of the Near East by Neandertals and modern humans. This chronological overlap in such a small area is the reason anthropologists have suggested this region as a likely place where Neandertals and modern humans might well have interbred.