New dating of the 'Ubeidiya site in the Jordan Valley shows early humans lived there at least 1.9 million years ago. That is hundreds of thousands of years earlier than previously believed, and makes the site roughly as old as Georgia's famous Dmanisi site. Both now rank among the earliest known human settlements outside Africa.
Scientists long assumed human ancestors stayed in Africa until about 1.8 million years ago, with Dmanisi as the main early outpost. If 'Ubeidiya is equally old, early humans spread out of Africa earlier, faster, and across a wider range of environments than the standard timeline allows. That reshapes when, how, and how often our ancestors moved across the world.
✦ The human journey out of Africa started earlier than the textbooks say.