The earliest modern humans in Europe

摘要

On page 521 of this issue, Higham et al.' document the presence of modern humans at the extreme northwestern tip of Europe by around 42,000-43,000 years ago - based on the most recent calibration of the radiocarbon timescale2. And on page 525, Benazzi et aV report a previously unsuspected, very early dispersal of modern humans into the extreme southern fringes of Europe by around 43,000-45,000 years ago. The two papers shed new light on the earliest settlement of two widely separated regions of Europe by anatomically and genetically modern human (Homo sapiens) populations, following their initial dispersal from Africa about 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.