Archaeologists date Jordan Valley human site to at least 1.9 million years ago
An archaeological site in the Jordan Valley is providing new evidence that early humans reached the Levant much earlier than previously thought. New research dates ‘Ubeidiya to at least 1.9 million years ago, placing it among the oldest known sites of early human activity outside Africa.
The revised age challenges earlier estimates of between 1.2 million and 1.6 million years and brings ‘Ubeidiya into the same broad timeframe as Dmanisi, an important early human site in Georgia. The findings also raise questions about how different human populations spread beyond Africa and whether they carried distinct stone-tool technologies into new territories.
The research was led by Professor Ari Matmon of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Professor Omry Barzilai of the University of Haifa, and Professor Miriam Belmaker of the University of Tulsa.
‘Ubeidiya has long been significant to researchers because its archaeological deposits contain evidence of the Acheulean stone-tool tradition, including large tools shaped on both sides, such as hand axes. The site has also yielded a rich collection of animal fossils, representing species associated with Africa and Asia, including extinct animals.
Establishing the site’s precise age, however, has proved difficult. Earlier estimates relied largely on comparisons with other archaeological finds and geological evidence rather than direct measurements of the deposits.
To improve the dating, the research team combined three independent methods. Cosmogenic isotope burial dating measures rare isotopes in rocks to estimate how long they have been buried. Magnetic evidence preserved in ancient lake sediments provided another chronological reference, while uranium-lead dating of fossilised freshwater snail shells helped establish a minimum age for the surrounding geological layers.
Together, the results support a date of at least 1.9 million years.
The revised timeline suggests that early human expansion beyond Africa may have involved populations using different approaches to toolmaking. The Oldowan tradition produced relatively simple stone tools, while the Acheulean tradition included more carefully shaped implements, particularly hand axes.
The evidence from ‘Ubeidiya and Dmanisi raises the possibility that these technologies spread beyond Africa during overlapping periods, rather than following a single, straightforward sequence. The findings do not establish exactly how the populations moved, but they provide a firmer chronological basis for investigating early migration.
The dating process also revealed a complication. Some initial isotope measurements suggested that rocks at the site were approximately three million years old, conflicting with other evidence.
The researchers traced this discrepancy to the area’s complex geological history. Sediments had been buried, exposed, moved, and deposited again within the Dead Sea rift, meaning some rocks retained evidence of events long before the archaeological layers at ‘Ubeidiya formed.
By accounting for this recycling of older material, the team reconciled the different measurements and strengthened the case for the revised date.
The results establish ‘Ubeidiya as a key location for studying early human activity beyond Africa. Its age, stone tools, and geological record offer researchers a clearer starting point for investigating when ancient human populations entered the Levant and how their technologies developed.
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