Recent archaeological discoveries in the dense rainforests of West Africa have revealed evidence that challenges long-held beliefs about early human habitation. An international team of researchers has discovered signs of human activity around 150,000 years ago in the Tai Forest in Côte d'Ivoire. The discovery suggests that early Homo sapiens not only inhabited open savannas, but also thrived in rainforest environments much earlier than previously thought.
The site, known as Bete I, has yielded stone tools and ancient vegetation, including fossilized pollen and phytoliths, indicating the presence of dense rainforest during the Middle Pleistocene. Advanced dating techniques, such as optically stimulated luminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance, were used to determine the age of these artifacts. These analyses confirmed that early humans adapted to and survived in rainforest ecosystems, using stone tools and fire for hunting and gathering.
This groundbreaking discovery challenges the widely held theory that early Homo sapiens primarily inhabited open landscapes such as savannas. It suggests that our ancestors were versatile and able to adapt to a variety of environments, including dense rainforests. This adaptability may have played a crucial role in the successful spread and evolution of our species across diverse ecosystems.
The implications of this study extend beyond understanding human habitation patterns. It prompts a reassessment of the ecological diversity that early humans could have exploited and highlights the importance of rainforests in human evolutionary history. As research continues, these findings could change our understanding of human adaptive capacity and survival strategies in prehistoric times.
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