The emergence of Homo sapiens in cold northern latitudes occurred several thousand years before the disappearance of Neanderthals there. When are the first groups homo sapiens He came to Europe, it was not deserted. At least 200 thousand years ago, their distant relatives, the Neanderthals, began to dominate the continent. And if the first migration of today’s people from Africa ended miserably, the second attempt was successful: they completely took root in Europe and also disappeared. Homo neanderthalism.

The border between the Middle and Upper Paleolithic is often associated with precisely these events – a large settlement homo sapiens and the parallel disappearance of Neanderthals. Since there are not many bone remains from ancient representatives of both species, we must focus on stone tool collections.

Ilsenhele Cave (Ranis, Germany) was excavated in the first half of the last century. A collection of stone tools and numerous bone fossils were collected. The condition of the bone fragments did not allow scientists at the time to determine who they belonged to.

But from comparative analysis of the tools, researchers concluded that Neanderthals lived in the cave. The fact is that bilateral leaf-shaped tips were discovered, which are attributed to the Lincombien-Ranis-Izhmanovice industry. Such artifacts are found in car parks across the north of Europe, from Poland to England. They were associated with Neanderthals or with modern-looking humans that intersected with them.

Between 2016 and 2022, an international group of researchers continued the Ilsenhelle excavations. In addition, scientists reanalyzed the fossils found in the first excavations using modern methods. An article containing the results of their study was published in the journal Nature. In the magazine Nature Ecology and Evolution published two articles in which the authors talked in more detail about the discoveries made.

During the excavations, archaeologists managed to accurately identify the layer containing tools from the Lincombien-Ranis-Jižmanovice industry. Underneath (i.e., in an older layer) they found Mousterian artifacts; this culture is associated with Neanderthals. Objects of the Aurignacian Cro-Magnon culture were discovered above. Radiocarbon dating determined the age of the layer: 45-47.5 thousand years.

In addition to stone tips, the researchers also found a significant number of bone fossils. These bones were badly fragmented, so it was not possible to identify their hosts morphologically. Scientists used proteins extracted from bone fragments to identify animal and human remains.

It turned out that the cave often served as a shelter for all kinds of predators: hyenas lived there, and cave bears hibernated. But sometimes people lived in Ilsenhel: Researchers found traces of processing with stone tools on some deer bones.

DNA analysis of human fossils showed they all belonged to homo sapiens. The authors of the study consider this to be a good confirmation of the previously expressed hypothesis that the Lincombien-Ranis-Izhmanovice industry is associated with modern-looking people. transformed into homo sapiens It crossed the Alps and reached northern Europe 45 thousand years ago and settled there on a large scale. The new picture of the colonization of the continent fundamentally changes our previous ideas about this period.

Scientists analyzed animal teeth and bones for stable isotopes to understand the climate conditions and habitats faced by pioneers. homo sapiens Near Ilsenhel. They concluded that the period associated with the Lincombien-Ranis-Izhmanovice tool layer was dominated by a cold continental climate and open steppe landscapes similar to those found in Siberia or northern Scandinavia today.

According to the study’s authors, this means that even the oldest groups homo sapiens The settlers of Eurasia already had a certain ability to adapt to harsh climatic conditions. Perhaps the cold steppes, with their large herds of predators, were a more attractive environment for these groups of people than before.