Comment on “A middle pleistocene homo from Nesher Ramla, Israel”

Abstract

Hershkovitz et al. (Reports, 25 June 2021, p. 1424) conclude that the Nesher Ramla (NR) fossils represent a distinctive Homo paleodeme that played a role as a source population for Neanderthals. However, the highly diagnostic features of the Neanderthal mandible-clearly displayed by the NR fossils-are largely overlooked. Our analyses indicate that the NR fossils represent simply a Neanderthal.