crude stone tools found in Ukraine have been dated to 1.4 million years ago , make them the oldest known man - made artifacts in Europe . Prior to this find , the continent ’s earliest prehistorical utensil were think to reside in Spain and France , yet the new - dated prick from the E radically alter the story of when and how humans first migrated into the area .
primitively discovered in 1974 at a site in Ukraine scream Korolevo , the graven Oliver Stone items are typical of the so - calledOldowan toolkit , which first appeared in East Africa some 2.5 million age ago and represents the most naive style of human tool - fashioning . For half a century , scientist were ineffective to accurately date the ancient artifact , yet a modern method involving cosmogenic nuclides has eventually unveil their staggering age .
Cosmogenic nuclidesare rare isotopes that form when cosmic rays from distant supernovae collide with component within the Earth ’s crust . By analyzing the ratios of nuclides such as beryllium-10 and aluminum-26 , the authors of a new study were able-bodied to reliably estimate how long ago the Korolevo tools were buried , finally determine that they are around 1.42 million years sometime .
The knapped artifacts are typical of the Oldowan toolkit.Image credit: Garba et al., Nature 2024
“ Korolevo is now established as the early firmly go steady hominin presence in Europe , ” write the investigator .
Unfortunately , no existent human remains were key alongside the stone putz , so it ’s impossible to say for sure whichancient hominidspecies crafted them . However , given thatHomo erectusis the only lineage known to have exist out of doors of Africa 1.4 million years ago , researchers suspect that this extinct species is likely responsible .
“ Our earliest antecedent , H. erectus , was the first of the hominins to go away Africa about two million years ago and manoeuver for the Middle East , East Asia , and Europe , ” explained study writer Roman Garba in astatement . Tracing the path taken by these dauntless prehistoric hominids , scientists have previously discovered 1.8 - million - yr - old Oldowan tools at a site shout Dmanisi in Georgia , as well as other ancient assemblages in China and Indonesia .
The findings suggest humans first colonized Europe from the East.Image credit: Garba et al., Nature 2024
In Europe , however , there is a significant gap between the Dmanisi relics and the next oldest tools , which descend from Atapuerca in Spain and Vallonnet in France , and are around 1.1 to 1.2 million years old . This time lag has inspired the hypothesis thathumans originally colonized Europefrom the southwest before later distribute north and E .
However , Garba has said that “ The radiometric dating of the first human bearing at the Korolevo situation not only fills in a magnanimous spatial gap between the Dmanisi site in Georgia and Atapuerca in Spain , but also affirm the hypothesis that the first pulse of hominin dispersion into Europe come in from the east or southeastern United States . ”
Korolevo also represents the northernmost appearance ofHomo erectus , with the engagement of the tools coinciding with a affectionate interglacial geological period that may have facilitated the migration of this specie into higher latitudes . grant to the study authors , these primordial humans believably began their colonization of Europe from this point in time , move due south and westwards along the valleys of the Danube River .
“ Our finding at Korolevo provide the first principal evidence raise the hypothesis that Europe was colonized from the east , ” they spell . “ A plausible dispersal scenario is that the Korolevo hominins stem from the Levant via Asia Minor , the Danube corridor and the Pannonian Basin . ”
Noting that the photo they paint here may be a little over - simplistic , the researcher say they “ recognize that hominin dispersal surely did not unfold as a unidirectional march from A to B … But for now , we can say that Korolevo ’s military control at around 1.4 [ million years ago ] directly challenges the marriage offer that people affect to higher latitudes only after the far-flung colonization of southerly Europe by around 1.2 [ million year ago ] . ”
The study has been published in the journalNature .
