what is known

Homo erectus was the first human species to appear in Europe. It came from Asia between 1.8 million and 1.4 million years ago, as evidenced by the fossils and tools found. This evidence spans several millennia, stretching back to 1.1 million years ago.

The next evidence of archaic humans in Europe dates back to about 900,000 years ago, perhaps after the arrival of a later and more powerful species, Homo antecessor, from Africa or Asia.

So there is a gap of 200,000 years. What happened? Scientists say that at this time the entire human population of Europe died out or, less likely, migrated to other regions. Now scientists have found evidence that the continent is currently facing a cooling phase.

Evidence is in the ocean

Researchers have found evidence of cooling in cores of marine sediment taken from the ocean floor off the coast of Portugal. Analysis of major isotopes in remnants of marine plankton from both the ocean surface and the ocean floor, as well as analysis of pollen grains from terrestrial vegetation, showed a sharp cooling about 1.15 million years ago.

The water temperature near Lisbon, which currently averages 21 degrees Celsius, has dropped to 6 degrees.. At the same time, mainland Europe likely experienced a similar cold phase that caused the northern ice sheets to spread southward. But about 1.13 million years ago, a steady flow of cold water was observed, suggesting that the ice sheets were breaking apart and warming in the southern regions of the planet, which gradually reached Europe. In general, our planet constantly goes through multiple cyclical cold and hot phases. The traditional time frame for such fluctuations suggests that the Ice Age must have peaked exactly 900,000 years ago.

Interestingly, the cooling period was marked by a significant drop in the level of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, but it is not clear whether this was a contributing factor or a consequence.

everything was like this

The new study includes a detailed reconstruction by co-author Axel Timmermann, a climate expert at the Institute of Basic Sciences in South Korea. It shows that supercooling made Europe too cold for archaic peoples. The cold made it difficult for them to find food because there were fewer plants and therefore fewer animals to eat them.

In addition, ancient people themselves did not adapt to the cold. Early hominins lacked adequate oil insulation and fire-fighting facilities, effective clothing or shelter, resulting in populations much lower resilience.

Therefore, environmental data, fossils, and archaeological evidence are in good agreement with each other, pointing to the decline of the region and possibly even the extinction of early human populations.