Our understanding of the history ofHomo sapiens Still full of surprises. By analyzing ancient stone tools excavated in Germany, an international team of archaeologists found that modern humans reached northwestern Europe more than 45,000 years ago, or a few thousand years earlier than previously thought, before the disappearance of Neanderthals from the region. Their work also provides a more precise understanding of the lifestyle and diet of these early modern humans, as well as the environmental conditions they faced.
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If the oldest remainsremains Kind of HomoHomo The first, dated to about 2.8 million years ago Homo sapiens, or modern humans, probably appeared in Africa about two to three hundred thousand years ago. We are all descended from these individuals, and Homo sapiensHomo sapiens Today are the only representatives of the genre Homoother speciesspecies is extinguished. The Homo sapiens distinctly different from other species of the genus Homo By an exclusively bilateral mode of movement, a the brainthe brain more voluminous and less marked body hair; And if other specieshominidshominids Also capable of it, modern man is notable for his enormous cognitive abilities (allowing for example the creation of complex tools, DomesticDomestic animal and plant species, language use transmitted through education) and for its ability to modify its environment to make better use of its resources.
Have we found the missing link of humanity? Relive a story filled with twists and turns of discovery that could rewrite our history. © Futura
Migration of modern humans and their relationships with other hominids
appearance and extension of Homo sapiens The world was accompanied by the progressive extinction of other species of the genus Homo, such as Neanderthal Man in Europe or Denisova Man in Asia. If these phenomena are mostly caused by natural selectionnatural selectionMany current figures have similarities GeneticsGenetics with the man of NeanderthalNeanderthalwitnessing contacts andHybridizationHybridization between elders Homo sapiens and membersHomo neanderthalis, now extinct. However, the relationships between these different species are still poorly understood, and many mysteries remain to be elucidated. Homo sapiens From Africa to other continents of the world. If we thought that the Homo sapiens Having settled in Europe around 40,000 years ago, an international team of archaeologists and paleoanthropologists suggests that they may have been present in northwestern Europe more than 47,500 years ago, ten thousand years before the extinction of their Neanderthal cousins. They publish their results in journals Nature.
A map of the migration routes and episodes of Homo sapiens throughout its history. © Encyclopaedia Britannica
Proteomic analysis of fossil bones
To reach this conclusion, the researchers conducted an archaeological excavation in the Ranis Cave in present-day East Germany between 2016 and 2022. Excavations had already been carried out there in the 1930s, revealing numerous stone tools in eight meters of sedimentary layers, which were associated with the first species. Homo neanderthalis ; But this first excavation was stopped by the presence of solid rock about two meters thick, which prevented the excavation of the underlying layers. During the recent resumption of excavations, archaeologists managed to remove it, giving them access to levels they had never seen before: they made a surprising discovery of fossilized bones, some of which were of human origin. without being recognizedthe eyethe eye To identify which animal species these bones belonged to, the team used a proteomic analysis technique – a method that allows identification proteinprotein to determine the species to which they belonged in the fossil record. By combining these analyzes with the methods of Carbon-14 datingCarbon-14 datingTheir conclusions are clear: members ofHomo sapiens were present in the cave at the beginning of their migration to the European continent 47,500 years ago. According to researchers, the stone tools initially attributed to Neanderthals were in fact made by modern humans! Knowing the last traces ofHomo neanderthalis Two species of the genus date to about 30,000 years ago in Europe Homo So must have cohabited for more than ten millennia…
Artifacts testifying to the lifestyle of the first Homo sapiens in Europe
According to archaeologists, the cave was only occasionally inhabited by humans: the variety of bones shows that it was sometimes inhabited by other animal species, such as bears during their hibernation. The Homo sapiensThose who were there for only a short period of time left behind clues about their diet, such as some bone fragments indicating that they ate deer meat. RhinocerosRhinoceros Wool or horse. In addition, analysis of the bones of some of these animals has revealed the climatic conditions that prevailed in the region more than forty millennia ago. The cave was then located in a region characterized by a atmosphereatmosphere Cold and continental, similar to the climate prevailing in present-day Siberia. These results suggest that these early modern humans already had strong climatic adaptation capabilities, and that such conditions seemed comfortable enough for humans to settle there.
Two stone tools used in cave digging. © Josephine Schubert, Museum Berg Ranis
These results suggest a very likely relationship between the front Homo sapiens and their Neanderthal cousins, who were better adapted to life in colder climates. If the small part The genomeThe genome Many seem to have been inherited from members of extant humansHomo neanderthalis, some researchers argue that it is precisely these adaptive abilities that have been genetically selected over generations. The team thus showed that the Homo sapiens Headed to Europe in very cold climatic conditions, previously considered inhospitable, even inhospitable. Moving in small groups, these pioneers shared their environment with the larger masses carnivorouscarnivorousLike hyenas, and there made elaborate stone tools.
