Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago
Humans emerged across Africa shortly before 300 thousand years ago (ka)<sup>1-3</sup>. Although this pan-African evolutionary process implicates diverse environments in the human story, the role of tropical forests remains poorly understood. Here we report a clear association between late Middle Pleistocene material culture and a wet tropical forest in southern Côte d'Ivoire, a region of present-day rainforest. Twinned optically stimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance dating methods constrain the onset of human occupations at Bété I to around 150 ka, linking them with Homo sapiens. Plant wax biomarker, stable isotope, phytolith and pollen analyses of associated sediments all point to a wet forest environment. The results represent the oldest yet known clear association between humans and this habitat type. The secure attribution of stone tool assemblages with the wet forest environment demonstrates that Africa's forests were not a major ecological barrier for H. sapiens as early as around 150 ka.
Authors
- James Blinkhorn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9399-5515)
- Mark D. Bateman
- Patrick Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4403-7548)
- Emily Y. Hallett (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3074-7274)
- Mathieu Duval (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3181-7753)
- Robert Patalano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9075-4556)
- Jana Ilgner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7210-8625)
- Sarah Elliott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3926-0366)
- Khady Niang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9281-5105)
- Alexander F. Blackwood (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6021-6191)
- Eslem Ben Arous (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2489-825X)
- Christopher A. Kiahtipes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8758-4605)
- Jacopo Niccolò Cerasoni (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5546-1555)
- Eleanor M. L. Scerri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7468-9977)
- María Jesús Alonso Escarza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0125-358X)
- E.M. Scott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5996-5734)
- Eugénie Affoua Kouamé
- Edith Lebato
- Francois Yodé Guédé
- Charles D. N’zi
Institutions
- Griffith University (AU)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- University of Liverpool (GB)
- Université de Perpignan (FR)
- University of Cape Town (ZA)
- Bryant University (US)
- University of Cologne (DE)
- Loyola University Chicago (US)
- La Trobe University (AU)
- University of Malta (MT)
- University of South Florida (US)
- Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques (FR)
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (ES)
- Institut Pasteur de Côte d'Ivoire (CI)
- Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History (DE)
- University of Sheffield (GB)
- Bournemouth University (GB)
- Cheikh Anta Diop University (SN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature
- Published
- 2025-02-26
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08613-y
- Citations
- 11
- Primary Topic
- Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 124.80
Funders
- University of South Florida
- European Commission
- Fondation Fyssen
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- European Social Fund