Pioneering groups of humans braved icy conditions to settle in northern Europe more than 45,000 years ago, a “huge surprise” that means they could have lived there alongside Neanderthals, scientists said Wednesday.

A group of researchers from different countries discovered human remains and tools hidden behind a large rock in a cave in Germany. These are the oldest known evidence of Homo sapiens ever found in such a northern location.

The finding has the potential to change the narrative of how the species spread throughout Europe and became the dominant species, replacing the Neanderthals who disappeared unexpectedly several thousand years after humans arrived.

During their coexistence in Europe, a “replacement phenomenon” occurred between the Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic periods, according to French paleoanthropologist Jean-Jacques Hublin, who led the recent study, as reported by AFP.

Archaeological findings, including stone tools, have been unearthed from this era, but attributing them to a specific species has been challenging due to the absence of bones.

The discovery of tools belonging to the Lincombian-Ranisian-Jerzmanowician (LRJ) culture at multiple sites in northern Europe, such as England and Poland, has posed a significant mystery.

Three new studies published in the journal Nature focused on a site near the town of Ranis in central Germany.

Concealed by a boulder

The cave was partially dug out in the 1930s, but the team aimed to uncover more evidence through excavations from 2016 to 2022.

During the 1930s, the excavations were hindered by a large rock measuring approximately 2 meters (6 feet) that was blocking their path. However, on this occasion, the scientists were able to manually remove it.

Hublin, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, explained that we were required to go down a depth of 8 meters (equivalent to 26 feet) and secure the walls with boards in order to shield the excavators.

At other LRJ sites, they also discovered leaf-shaped stone blades and thousands of bone fragments, which served as their reward.

The group utilized a novel method known as paleoproteomics, which entails isolating proteins from ancient remains, to identify the origins of different bones, whether they belonged to animals or humans.

By utilizing radiocarbon dating and DNA analysis, it was verified that the cave contained the bones of 13 individuals.

This indicates that the stone tools found in the cave, originally believed to have been created by Neanderthals, were actually made by humans around 47,500 years ago.

Marcel Weiss, co-author of the study, expressed that this was a significant revelation as there were no previous findings of human fossils in the LRJ. It was seen as a reflection of the diligent efforts put into excavating at the site.

The fossils are from the era when the initial Homo sapiens were departing Africa for Europe and Asia.

Hublin stated that for a significant period, there has been a belief in a large influx of Homo sapiens into Europe, which quickly assimilated the Neanderthals towards the end of the transitional cultures approximately 40,000 years ago.

However, the most recent finding indicates that humans inhabited the continent through multiple smaller trips – and earlier than previously thought.

A cold change

This implies that there was a longer period for Homo sapiens to coexist with their Neanderthal relatives, with the final Neanderthal population in Europe disappearing 40,000 years ago in the southwest region.

The researchers stated that this specific group arrived in a northern region of Europe that was significantly colder than it is today, similar to the climate in present-day Siberia or northern Scandinavia.

The people resided in compact, movable communities, only temporarily inhabiting the cavern where they consumed meat from reindeer, woolly rhinoceros, horses, and other animals they hunted.

“How did these people from Africa come up with the idea of heading towards such extreme temperatures?” Hublin asked.

He added that the humans demonstrated their ability to thrive in a harsh environment through their technical skills and adaptability.

In the past, it was believed that humans were unable to tolerate such extreme cold until thousands of years later.

However, humans survived longer than the Neanderthals, who had been adapted to the cold for a long time.

The fate of the Neanderthals is still unknown. However, some believe that humans may be responsible for their disappearance through acts of aggression, spreading illnesses, or through interbreeding.

Source: voanews.com