Early Humans in Europe Likely Wiped Out by Cold Weather
2023-08-17
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1Scientists say that an early human species that settled in what is now Europe was wiped out by a long ice age over 1 million years ago.
2The scientists say Homo erectus, considered the first member of the human family tree to have moved out of Africa, was not able to survive a cold period that lasted 4,000 years.
3They published the research in early August in the journal Science.
4Chris Stringer is an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London.
5He was one of the study's writers.
6Stringer and his co-writers say they studied fossils and stone tools found in Europe.
7The fossils showed a gap in the timeline of about 200,000 years.
8"There was probably a complete interruption in the early human occupation of Europe," Stringer said.
9The researchers say early human species likely did not know how to make warm clothing or find ways to make fire in cold places.
10The cold weather froze the ground and prevented them from gathering food and hunting animals.
11The scientists used ancient organic compounds left by algae and pollen off Portugal's coast to learn about climate change over 1 million years ago.
12The study showed the average air temperature dropped by 4.5 degrees Celsius.
13Axel Timmermann is a climate physicist at Pusan National University in South Korea.
14He said the study shows that human occupation of Europe was not continuous but was interrupted by at least one "climate-induced extinction."
15It is not clear how many early humans died off during this cold period, the researchers said.
16"Probably at best in the tens of thousands in Europe," Stringer said of the population at the time.
17Another study writer was Chronis Tzedakis, a physical geography teacher at University College London.
18He said humans probably returned to Europe about 900,000 years ago after "evolutionary or behavioral changes" that permitted them to survive in cold conditions.
19Scientists have records of human-like species in Spain and Germany from 800,000 to 600,000 years ago.
20Homo sapiens are known in Africa from 300,000 years ago and may have briefly come to Europe more than 200,000 years ago.
21But the main movement of humans into Europe came only 60,000 years ago.
22I'm Dan Friedell.
1Scientists say that an early human species that settled in what is now Europe was wiped out by a long ice age over 1 million years ago. 2The scientists say Homo erectus, considered the first member of the human family tree to have moved out of Africa, was not able to survive a cold period that lasted 4,000 years. They published the research in early August in the journal Science. 3Chris Stringer is an anthropologist at the Natural History Museum in London. He was one of the study's writers. Stringer and his co-writers say they studied fossils and stone tools found in Europe. The fossils showed a gap in the timeline of about 200,000 years. 4"There was probably a complete interruption in the early human occupation of Europe," Stringer said. 5The researchers say early human species likely did not know how to make warm clothing or find ways to make fire in cold places. The cold weather froze the ground and prevented them from gathering food and hunting animals. 6The scientists used ancient organic compounds left by algae and pollen off Portugal's coast to learn about climate change over 1 million years ago. The study showed the average air temperature dropped by 4.5 degrees Celsius. 7Axel Timmermann is a climate physicist at Pusan National University in South Korea. He said the study shows that human occupation of Europe was not continuous but was interrupted by at least one "climate-induced extinction." 8It is not clear how many early humans died off during this cold period, the researchers said. "Probably at best in the tens of thousands in Europe," Stringer said of the population at the time. 9Another study writer was Chronis Tzedakis, a physical geography teacher at University College London. He said humans probably returned to Europe about 900,000 years ago after "evolutionary or behavioral changes" that permitted them to survive in cold conditions. 10Scientists have records of human-like species in Spain and Germany from 800,000 to 600,000 years ago. Homo sapiens are known in Africa from 300,000 years ago and may have briefly come to Europe more than 200,000 years ago. But the main movement of humans into Europe came only 60,000 years ago. 11I'm Dan Friedell. 12Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 13____________________________________________________ 14Words in This Story 15species -n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants : a group of related animals or plants that is smaller than a genus 16wipe out -v. to eliminate completely 17fossil -n. something (such as a leaf, skeleton, or footprint) that is from a plant or animal which lived in ancient times and that you can see in some rocks 18interruption -n. a situation where something stops for a period of time 19algae -n. simple plants that have no leaves or stems and that grow in or near water 20pollen -n. the very fine usually yellow dust that is produced by a plant and that is carried to other plants of the same kind usually by wind or insects so that the plants can produce seeds 21induce -v. to cause something to happen 22extinction -n. when something stops living or dies out 23evolutionary -adj. having to do with the way something changes over time 24behavioral -adj. having to do with the way someone or something acts 25We want to hear from you. What do you think of this news about humans in Europe?