Early Humans Returned to the Rainforests Far Earlier Than Previously Thought

Modern humans evolved around 300,000 years ago, but only began inhabiting rainforests much later. In fact, the earliest archaeological evidence of humans living in rainforest habitats is only about 70,000 years old. Surprising new research suggests that the timeline extends more than 80,000 years further into the past. After reinvestigating a site in modern-day Côte d’Ivoire, an international team of researchers claims that humans (Homo sapiens) began living in rainforests as early as 150,000 years ago—tens of thousands of years earlier than scholars had previously posited. As detailed in a study published today in the journal Nature, the research confirms the idea that a variety of different landscapes influenced human evolution, and not just open savannas and grasslands. “Before our study, the oldest secure evidence for habitation in African rainforests was around 18 thousand years ago and the oldest evidence of rainforest habitation anywhere came from southeast Asia at about 70 th ... Read full article.