Environmental conditions associated with initial northern expansion of anatomically modern humans

Frédérik Saltré (), Joël Chadœuf, Thomas Higham, Monty Ochocki, Sebastián Block, Ellyse Bunney, Bastien Llamas and Corey J. A. Bradshaw
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Frédérik Saltré: Flinders University
Joël Chadœuf: French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA)
Thomas Higham: University of Vienna, University Biology Building
Monty Ochocki: University of Vienna, University Biology Building
Sebastián Block: Princeton University
Ellyse Bunney: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Bastien Llamas: Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage
Corey J. A. Bradshaw: Flinders University

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: Abstract The ability of our ancestors to switch food sources and to migrate to more favourable environments enabled the rapid global expansion of anatomically modern humans beyond Africa as early as 120,000 years ago. Whether this versatility was largely the result of environmentally determined processes or was instead dominated by cultural drivers, social structures, and interactions among different groups, is unclear. We develop a statistical approach that combines both archaeological and genetic data to infer the more-likely initial expansion routes in northern Eurasia and the Americas. We then quantify the main differences in past environmental conditions between the more-likely routes and other potential (less-likely) routes of expansion. We establish that, even though cultural drivers remain plausible at finer scales, the emergent migration corridors were predominantly constrained by a combination of regional environmental conditions, including the presence of a forest-grassland ecotone, changes in temperature and precipitation, and proximity to rivers.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48762-8

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