Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 9 hrs ago
Elephant remains reveal a wetland and woodland habitat in ancient Israel
Researchers studied the tooth and tusk fragments of a straight-tusked elephant found at a site in northern Israel.
The elephant lived about 700,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene.
The remains were found near stone handaxes and cleavers made by an unidentified group of early humans.
Tooth chemistry and wear, along with pollen, suggest the area had a humid climate, wetlands, waterways and open oak woodlands.
The Hula Valley may have offered a relatively stable source of freshwater as the wider region shifted between wetter and drier periods.
The researchers say elephants helped shape the landscape by knocking down trees and trampling undergrowth.
Their findings provide clues about the habitat used by animals and early humans moving through the land corridor between Africa and Eurasia.
Remains of a straight-tusked elephant suggest the Upper Jordan River region was a humid landscape of wetlands, waterways and relatively open oak woodlands about 700,000 years ago.
Researchers reconstructed the habitat using clues from the elephant’s molars and tusk fragments.
The remains were found at North of Bridge Acheulian, a site in northern Israel, alongside basalt handaxes and cleavers.
The researchers say reliable water and vegetation likely supported humans, elephants and other animals moving through the Levantine Corridor.
- Who
- A research team led by Hannah Farrell, a Ph.D. candidate at Haifa University, studied the remains.
- What
- Elephant remains revealed clues about a wetland and woodland habitat. The remains belonged to a straight-tusked elephant.
- When
- About 700,000 years ago. The study was published on October 12, 2026.
- Where
- North of Bridge Acheulian, south of the Hula Valley in northern Israel.
- Why
- Researchers used the remains to reconstruct the elephant’s habitat and the environment shared by humans and other animals.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
A straight-tusked elephant lived in the woodlands and wetlands of the Upper Jordan River region.
Discover published an account of researchers’ findings from the elephant remains.
- Age of remains
- About 700,000 years
- Elephant species
- Straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)
- Find site
- North of Bridge Acheulian, south of the Hula Valley in northern Israel
- Nearby artifacts
- Basalt handaxes and cleavers
- Research lead
- Hannah Farrell, a Ph.D. candidate at Haifa University
What people are saying
With it, we were able to establish a rare, detailed look at the ecosystem over a span of a few years of this elephant's life 700,000 years ago
Our findings indicate that during the Middle Pleistocene (about 700,000 years ago), the Levantine Corridor had a humid, stable Mediterranean climate and that the landscape was a mosaic of wetlands and relatively open oak woodlands, with grasses and riparian vegetation
Sources
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