A new study proves that early humans could have entered Europe not only through the Balkans or the Levant, but also by land from the territory of modern Turkey. Archaeologists have found more than 130 stone tools that indicate that during the Ice Age there was a natural bridge between Anatolia and Europe, writes Phys, reports UNN.
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New research indicates that during the Ice Age, sea levels dropped by more than 100 meters, revealing vast coastal plains that are now hidden underwater.
It has long been believed that Homo sapiens entered Europe primarily through the Balkans and the Levant, from Africa to the Middle East. However, the new discovery of 138 stone artifacts at 10 sites covering 200 km² suggests that the northeastern Aegean coast of Ayvalık (now Turkey) was actually another route for early humans.
Our archaeological discovery has shown that this now idyllic region was once potentially a vital land bridge for human movement during the Pleistocene epoch, when sea levels dropped and the now submerged landscape was briefly exposed.
We are very excited and enthusiastic about this discovery. These findings mark Ayvalık as a potentially new frontier in the history of human evolution, firmly placing it on the map of human prehistory, opening up a new possibility as to how early humans might have entered Europe. Our research opens up exciting possibilities for future research, and we hope it will become a body of work that will change the approach to Pleistocene archaeology for decades to come.
These paleogeographic reconstructions highlight the importance of the region for understanding hominin dispersal across the northeastern Aegean during the Pleistocene.