450,000-year-old cemetery

[Harambasha]

Remnants of an ancient civilization dating back 450,000 years, including a mass grave, have been found in the southern Jazan region, said Faisal Al-Tumaihi, an archaeologist at Jazan University.

http://www.arabnews.com/news/510006

[Pax Unum]

450,000? Methinks someone added a couple extra zero's...

[seeder]

450, 000 years old? That'll be interesting as it pre-dates modern man by about 250,000 years!

I had a quick google on this story, it seems there is one main source but many other links all state the same 450,000 date so its a mass produced error. One sentence from the OP says

“The antiques found in the area also included a jar dating back 5,000 years"

[Xynoplas]

People (if we can call them that) died 450,000 years ago. The problem is there is no other source for this story.

[PersonFromPorlock]

From Wikipedia:

Homo heidelbergensis — sometimes called Homo rhodesiensis — is an extinct species of the genus Homo which lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia from at least 600,000 years ago, and may date back 1,300,000 years. It survived until about 200,000 to 250,000 years ago. Its brain was nearly as large as that of a modern Homo sapiens. It is very likely the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens (in Africa) and the Neanderthals (in Europe), and perhaps also the Denisovans (in Central Asia). First discovered near Heidelberg in Germany in 1907, it was described and named by Otto Schoetensack.

So, not impossible. But a misprint seems more likely.

Edited February 5, 2014 by PersonFromPorlock

[Xynoplas]

I tried Googling for this guy, and I only found the cited article, and oh yeah this thread, haha.

[Pax Unum]

From Wikipedia:

Homo heidelbergensis — sometimes called Homo rhodesiensis — is an extinct species of the genus Homo which lived in Africa, Europe and western Asia from at least 600,000 years ago, and may date back 1,300,000 years. It survived until about 200,000 to 250,000 years ago. Its brain was nearly as large as that of a modern Homo sapiens. It is very likely the direct ancestor of Homo sapiens (in Africa) and the Neanderthals (in Europe), and perhaps also the Denisovans (in Central Asia). First discovered near Heidelberg in Germany in 1907, it was described and named by Otto Schoetensack.

So, not impossible. But a misprint seems more likely.

It's not possible and it's clearly a misprint, as pointed out by seeder the article mentions a jar dating back 5,000 years. I hope you don't believe Homo heidelbergensis was still around 5,000 years ago...

Edited February 6, 2014 by Pax Unum

[Careful_perspective]

4,500-5000 seems more likely.