The available data show that there are several waves of migration, the oldest of which occurred. 54,000 to 42,000 years ago. This means that the settlement of modern humans in Europe began 12,000 years earlier than scientists believed.

What do we know about the appearance of people in Europe?

Our species, Homo sapiens, first appeared on the African continent 300,000 years ago, and anatomically modern humans appeared at least 195,000 years ago. The earliest evidence of human existence outside of Africa has been found in Israel and is around 194,000 years old, while potential traces of human activity in Greece date back to 210,000 years ago.

For many years, the earliest confirmed evidence of modern humans arriving in Europe were teeth found in Italy and Bulgaria, estimated to be around 42,000 years old. These teeth belonged to the Proto-Aurignacian culture, the earliest known hunter-gatherer culture in Europe. However, a major breakthrough came in 2022 when a tooth found in southern France showed that modern humans may have arrived in Europe much earlier, potentially around 54,000 years ago.

This discovery was supported by the identification of distinctive stone artifacts found at the same site, including arrowheads and spearheads, which differed from the tools of the period.

new data

In a recent study, archaeologists claim that another wave of human migration occurred between 54,000 and 42,000 years ago, challenging the established narrative about the arrival of Homo sapiens on the continent. Ludovic Slimac, an archaeologist from the University of Toulouse and one of the authors of the study, stressed that the historical framework of human migration to Europe should be reviewed based on these new findings.

The study focused on a collection of stone artifacts excavated in the Levant, a region that includes present-day Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Historians have long believed that modern humans migrated from Africa through this region. Comparing these artifacts with artifacts found in France, Slimac found striking similarities and suggested that they belonged to the same cultural group that gradually spread across Europe. In addition, the study revealed similarities between younger artifacts of the Proto-Rhyniac culture and objects from the Levant, particularly the Akhmar culture.

I bridged the gap between European and eastern Mediterranean populations during the migration of early sapiens to the continent,
– says Slimak, expressing confidence in the results of the study.

In addition, Slimak discovered thousands of flint artifacts left by people living in the Levant during the Early Upper Paleolithic. This discovery motivated him to look for similar objects in Europe. Surprisingly, stone artifacts from the Chatelperon culture bore a striking resemblance to those found in the eastern Mediterranean. In addition, the history of these objects belonging to the Chatelperon culture dates back to approximately BC. It dates back to 45,000 years.

Previously, anthropologists believed that members of the Chatelperon culture were Neanderthals, but Slimak believes they were actually primitive humans who made up the second wave of immigrants from Africa.

While these discoveries provide intriguing insights into early human migration, more archaeological findings and research are needed to confirm Slimak’s hypothesis and improve our understanding of Europe’s prehistoric past. As the scientific community continues to discover and uncover new evidence, the history of human migration and settlement is being rewritten, offering a fascinating look at our evolving understanding of our ancient origins.