Let’s talk about the Homo sapiens. When we think about the first human beings, we normally picture Homo sapiens, right? Few people could believe that our ancestors were capable of living in complex places like a rainforest, full of humidity, dense trees, and wild animals.
However, a recent discovery in Côte d’Ivoire (Africa) has completely changed this idea. A group of scientists found evidence that ancient Homo sapiens live in the rainforest for about 150,000 years! This is making experts rethink what they knew about the first human beings. So, let’s learn more about this discovery that is going to change our view about them.
Humans living in the rainforest
Rainforests are places where it’s constantly raining, full of trees, plants, and animals; but also they are humid and dark places. For a long time, scientists thought the first human beings couldn’t live there because it was difficult to hunt, get food, or protect themselves from the climate. But, new research proves that Homo sapiens were more intelligent and adaptable than what was thought, they learned to thrive in every corner of the Earth, including the heart of the rainforest.
Somewhere called Cété I, archaeologists found stone tools, remains of plants, and fragments of charcoal buried in the ground. All of these things are clear evidence that humans lived there a long long time ago. Before this discovery, the oldest evidence of humans living in African rainforests was about 18,000 years old.
In comparison, in Southeast Asia, the oldest rainforest settlement was about 70,000 years old. This new evidence from West Africa is much older — about 150,000 years — and it shows that humans were already capable of surviving in complex environments very early in history.
How was the discovery made
Bété I was already studied in 1982 for the first time by professor Yodé Guédé, from the University of Félix Houphouët-Boigny. That first project was a teamwork between Ivorian and Soviet scientists, and it continued until the 90s. During those excavations, they found stone tools, but at that time there wasn’t the technology needed to know how ancient they were. Later, during the Second Ivorian Civil War in 2011, the place was lost and the investigations were stopped.
Years later, professor Guédé helped a new group of scientists find the place again, but, this time, they used advanced technology like the Optical Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) and Electron-Spin Resonance (ESR) to date the tools and soil layers.
The team also studied tiny particles found in the soil, such as pollen, plant wax, and phytoliths (small pieces of fossilized plant matter). These microscopic clues showed that the area was once a dense, humid rainforest. Most importantly, the dating results indicated that the site was about 150,000 years old.
So, all of this makes experts think that early Homo sapiens lived in the rainforests of West Africa much earlier than anyone believed before.
Importance of this Homo sapiens finding
This discovery shows that the Homo sapiens were incredibly intelligent, flexible, and resistant because they could adapt, make tools, look for food, and even use fire in such a humid environment like the rainforest is. Keep in mind that the presence of charcoal means they know how to control fire, which is fundamental to cooking, getting warm, and protecting themselves from animals.
According to professor Eleanor Scerri, one of the main researchers, the results also show signs of “ecological convergence.” This means that the people living there were diverse and connected to other human groups across Africa. They were part of a large and varied population that was already exploring different types of environments.