Spanish cave findings study claims humans reached Europe 5,000 years earlier than previously thought

By Euro Weekly News Media • Published: 23 Jan 2019 • 18:45 • <1 minute read

NEW EVIDENCE: Researchers examined tools found in Torremolinos (file photo) Photo: Wikimedia Commons

EVIDENCE gathered from a Torremolinos cave has challenged existing theories about the arrival of modern humans in southern Europe.

Researchers from Spain, Britain and Japan have claimed their examinations of items gathered from the Bajondillo Cave shows modern humans arrived in southern Spain around 44,000 years ago. That is around 5,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The researchers have published their findings in the Nature, Ecology & Evolution journal. Their study claimed Homo sapiens had moved into Spain but that their migration was not connected to the ice age that ended around 11,000 years ago.

Chris Stringer, a researcher from Britain’s Natural History Museum who worked on the study, said the findings backed claims Homo sapiens spread rapidly into Eurasia more than 40,000 years ago.

Arturo Morales-Muñiz, of the Autonomous University of Madrid and a co-author of the study, said it also highlighted the role the Strait of Gibraltar played in early human migration.