ZUTTIYEH (Galilee)
Lo CATION
Cave on the edge of the Wadi Amud, below the
Amud site and about 3.5 km from the wadi’s conflu-
ence with the NW shore of Lake Kinneret (“Sea of
Galilee”), Israel.
DISCOVERY
Excavations of F. Turville-Petre, 1925.MATERIAL
Frontal bone with part of left zygomatic.DATING AND STRATIGRAPHIC CONTEXT
Stratified cave site not renowned for the excellence of
its excavation. Lithic associations suggest an age of
well over 200 Ka.ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
Found at a depth of 2 m (Turville-Petre, 1927) at the
base of a level containing lithics initially described as
“Lower Levalloiso-Mousterian” (Garrod and Bate,
1937), but now generally regarded as representing a
pre-Mousterian Acheuleo-Yabrudian industry, similar
to ones dated elsewhere in the 400-250 Ka range
(e.g., Bar-Yosef, 1989, 1995).PREVIOUS DESCRIPTIONS AND ANALYSES
Initially described by Keith (1927), who found the
frontal closest to the Neanderthals among the limitedcomparative sample then available. More recent au-
thors have preferred to emphasize differences from
Neanderthals. Wolpoff (1996), for example, has re-
cently stressed the comparison to Zhoukoudian Homo
erectus, although earlier he believed Zuttiyeh to be
ancestral to the Qafzeh/Skhd group (Wolpoff, 1989),
a possibility also implied by Stringer and Gamble
(1993). Most current workers would, it seems, concur
with Vandermeersch (1982) in placing this potentially
important specimen in the meaningless taxon “archaic
Homo sapiens.”MORPHOLOGY
Complete adult frontal bone with superior part of
nasal bones, little bit of frontal process, most of R
zygoma, and greater wing of sphenoid and part of
3ugum.
Brow region slightly asymmetric due to reactive
bone laterally on the L. Also five bony lesions (possi-
bly six) that affect appearance of frontal: four are cir-
cular indentations (approximately 1 cm diameter) on
frontal squama; fifth is a small fossa on R torus that
indents it and affects overall contour.
Superciliary arches developed into tori that roll
smoothly back from orbital margins, thinning some-
what laterally. Double-arched torus confluent across
rather flat glabella, especially inferiorly. Forehead not
tall; rises quite sharply and distinctly posterior to
brows with only a hint of posttoral sulcus. Interor-
bital space broad. Break below nasion reveals sinuses
that are difficult to interpret. On the L, frontal sinus