Despite the cold, people lived in Europe much earlier than expected

Fossils from Thuringia

January 31, 2024 10:54 p.m. Robert Klatt

New discoveries at Ilsenhöhle in Thuringia show that modern humans (Homo sapiens) lived in central and northwest Europe at least 45,000 years ago, even though it was up to 15 degrees Celsius colder than Today.

Leipzig (Germany). Scientists previously thought that modern humans (Homo sapiens) did not live in large numbers in Europe until around 40,000 years ago. In contrast, older relics discovered in northwest Europe have been attributed to Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis), who are believed to have lived in Europe long before Homo sapiens and died out around 40,000 years ago.

Researcher of Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI EVA) directed by Jean-Jacques Hublin have, according to a publication in the specialized journal Nature has now discovered that modern humans and Neanderthals may have populated central and northwestern Europe together for more than 10,000 years.

Homo sapiens in central and north-western Europe

According to two publications in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution (1, 2), discoveries from Ilsenhöhle in Thuringia show that modern humans lived there at least 45,000 years ago, even if it was 7 to 15 degrees Celsius cooler than today. This proves that early Homo sapiens were able to adapt well to inhospitable environmental conditions.

In Ilsen Cave, researchers discovered, among other things, LRJ (Lincomian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician) blades and bone remains containing the DNA of Homo sapiens. Other LRJ stone blades found in places like Britain have also been attributed to early Homo sapiens.

“The Ranis site provided evidence of the first expansion of Homo sapiens towards the northern latitudes of Europe. It is now certain that the stone tools thought to have been made by Neanderthals were indeed made by modern humans. »

Re-examination of the Ilsenhöhle

According to Geoff Smith, the Ilsenhöhle was examined by various archaeologists in the 1920s and 1930s. During their excavations, the MPI EVA researchers penetrated previously unexplored layers in which they were able to find, among other things, thousands fragments of broken bones, some of which come from Homo sapiens.

“Zoological archaeological investigations show that Ranis Cave was alternately used by hyenas, hibernating cave bears and small groups of people. Although these people only used the cave for short periods of time, they consumed meat from a variety of animals, including reindeer, woolly rhinoceroses, and horses.

Cold continental climate in Thuringia

According to an isotopic analysis of horse teeth, present-day Thuringia had a cold continental climate 45,000 years ago. According to Sarah Pederzani, the region resembled modern-day Siberia.

“Our results show that even these early groups of Homo sapiens, as they spread across Eurasia, were already capable of adapting to such harsh climatic conditions. Until now, it was thought that human resistance to cold climatic conditions only emerged several thousand years later.”

According to the researchers, it is conceivable that Homo sapiens came to the region from Ilsenhöhle to hunt large animals. It is not yet clear whether they lived in the area permanently or only hunted seasonally.

Nature, do I: 10.1038/s41586-023-06923-7

Nature, ecology and evolution, doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02303-6

Nature, ecology and evolution, doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02318-z