Pollen grains analysis unveils secret of 1st human migration into Eurasia 50,000 yrs ago
Science Advances says. The pollen data showed that warming temperatures supported forests that expanded into Siberia and facilitated early human migration there, researchers from the University of Kansas, US, said in their study.
They compared Pleistocene vegetation communities around Lake Baikal in Siberia, Russia, to the oldest archeological traces of Homo sapiens in the region.
Pleistocene period is considered two million to 11 thousand years ago and as the time of human evolution.
In this study, the researchers use the «remarkable evidence» to tell this migration story from about 45,000-50,000 years ago.
«This research addresses long-standing debates regarding the environmental conditions that early Homo sapiens faced during their migration into Europe and Asia around 40,000 to 50,000 years ago,» said co-author Ted Goebel, professor of anthropology at the university.
«It provides critical insights into environmental conditions at Lake Baikal, using pollen records to reveal surprising warmth during this period,» said Goebel.
Dispersal of people occurred during some of the highest temperatures in the late Pleistocene, which also would have featured higher humidity, the ancient pollen record suggested, said the researchers, adding it also showed that coniferous forests and grasslands characterised the region, supporting foraging and hunting by humans.
However, the environmental data, combined with archeological evidence, tell another story, said Goebel.
