A new study published June 18 in the journal Nature has uncovered a “huge surprise” about humans in Africa 50,000 years ago.
Previous studies have shown that humans, who arrived in Africa 300,000 years ago and began leaving around 270,000 years ago, are descended from a small group of humans who left Africa just 50,000 years ago. Scientists have long wondered why earlier migration waves didn’t leave any genetic traces in modern humans, and now the new study may explain why.
To determine results, scientists analyzed evidence such as ancient plant and animal remains from various sites across Africa dating between 120,000 to 14,000 years ago. They reconstructed the habitats and climates in which people lived during those times to better understand the climate, rainfall, and vegetation of those environments. They discovered that modern humans actually began living around 70,000 years ago in the forests of West, North, and Central Africa, environments where temperatures were much harsher.
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“Humans have been successfully living in challenging habitats for at least 70,000 years,” study co-lead author Emily Hallett told Live Science. She added that the discovery was “a huge surprise.” “Our ecological flexibility is part of what enabled our species to disperse across the globe and thrive in each habitat we encountered,” she said.
“What we see about 70,000 years ago is Homo sapiens becoming the ultimate generalist, and pushing into more and more extreme environments,” co-author Andrea Manica explained. “That newly found additional flexibility gave them an edge 50,000 years ago, allowing them to spread rapidly across the whole globe, and thriving in environments that were novel and sometimes very challenging, such as those found at very northern latitudes.”
The discovery illuminates not only the evolution of humans in Africa, but the evolution of all mankind. Though it’s unclear what began pushing humans out of Africa, the researchers say it was likely out of “necessity.”
Study Finds ‘Huge Surprise’ About Ancient Humans in Africa first appeared on Men’s Journal on Jun 20, 2025
