The origin of humankind has given rise to countless theories, forms, stories, and moments… But now, scientists have found fascinating evidence about the first humans to inhabit planet Earth. Scientific evidence suggests that we emerged as a species somewhere in south-central Africa around 300,000 years ago and then, slowly and over millions of years, dispersed across the globe. However, a team of researchers has made an incredible discovery in Ivory Coast, West Africa, deep in the African jungle.
The first evidence linking our species to these rainforests in equatorial Africa dates back 18,000 years
It’s difficult to imagine that early humans could thrive in a place as dense as a rainforest. In fact, the earliest remains of Homo sapiens in rainforests date back thousands of years, to Asia and Oceania, and are 45,000 years old. The first evidence linking our species to these rainforests in equatorial Africa dates back 18,000 years. The rainforest was, and is, a dark, noisy, and potentially violent place; hence, it was considered a barrier for humankind. A family of Homo sapiens attempting to cross a rainforest full of dangers seems like a rather undesirable situation.
This new evidence reveals that early humans not only survived in the ecosystem but thrived in it
Thanks to science, an international team of researchers, led by Eleanor Scerri and Eslem Ben Arous of the Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, has found evidence that the first Homo sapiens settled in one of these African tropical regions 150,000 years ago. This new evidence reveals that early humans not only survived in the ecosystem but thrived in it. It’s worth noting that until now, the oldest evidence of humans thriving in African rainforests dated back 18,000 years.
“It is the oldest known association between humans and this type of ecosystem”
The team of archaeologists working at Bété Isite in Ivory Coast, West Africa, discovered evidence of early humans that raises far more questions than it answers. The study explains that Homo sapiens inhabited the rainforest of what is now Ivory Coast. “It is the oldest known association between humans and this type of ecosystem,” the authors explain. The Bété site has been investigated twice. The first investigation was carried out in 1982, under the direction of Yodé Guédé, professor of archaeology at Félix Houphouët-Boigny University. What is clear is that from the very beginning of our time as a species, we have had an enormous capacity for adaptation. That first excavation uncovered stone tools in the rainforest, but these were lost in 2011 during the Second Ivorian Civil War. Therefore, there were already indications of human activity in this area.
It was almost impossible to survive in an environment with these characteristics and with the tools available at the time
Tropical rainforests are regions known for their rainfall, humid climate, and wildlife. According to the information we had until now, it was almost impossible to survive in an environment with these characteristics and with the tools available at the time. Now, with new techniques available to scientists, it has been determined that the earliest human presence at this archaeological site occurred during the Middle Pleistocene.
Importance: without sophisticated technologies, they managed to develop hunting and agricultural skills
This discovery is therefore very interesting for understanding how the human species moved in another era and in an environment as hostile as the rainforest. We can see how they were not limited by tools or environmental factors. Homo sapiens did not shrink before the immensity of the jungle; rather, without sophisticated technologies, they managed to develop hunting and agricultural skills that allowed them to survive.