A new study published in the journal Nature reveals that humans lived in tropical rainforests 150,000 years ago, pushing back the earliest known presence of humans in these environments by more than twice. The findings were made possible by the use of new dating techniques, such as optically stimulated luminescence, which enabled researchers to determine that stone tools at a site in West Africa’s Ivory Coast date back to 150,000 years ago.
The discovery also uncovered traces of ancient rainforest-specific plants, including Hunteria and Oil Palms, which are typical of the humid environments in which these ancient humans lived. The presence of these plants suggests that rainforest-like environments were not a barrier to human expansion, but rather inhabited hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Lead researcher Eslem Ben Arous notes that the findings support the theory that Homo sapiens may have arisen in multiple places around Africa, rather than all originating in a single location and spreading outward. The discovery also provides new insights into the evolution of humans, suggesting that ancient humans who were adapted to living in rainforests did not often encounter people who were adapted to living in open grasslands.
The study’s findings are significant, as they push back the known presence of humans in tropical rainforests by over 100,000 years. The site in West Africa is now considered one of the oldest known human settlements in the region, dating back to at least the Middle Pleistocene era.
Source: https://www.livescience.com/archaeology/150-000-year-old-stone-tools-reveal-humans-lived-in-tropical-rainforests-much-earlier-than-thought