This incredible map reveals the newly-discovered route that early humans took when they left Africa for Eurasia 80,000 years ago.
Scientists have long believed that when the sea level was low, Homo Sapiens used a southern crossing via the Red Sea from the horn of Africa, to get to south-western Arabia.
But a new study suggests there was also another ‘well-trodden’ passage to the north.
This was the only land-route from Africa to Eurasia and saw hunter-gatherers follow a lush ‘corridor’ of rivers across the Sinai peninsula and through The Levant towards western Asia and northern Arabia via Jordan.
Many of these rivers have since dried out in areas that are now desert lands, researchers from the University of Southampton said, but the discovery of abandoned hand tools has helped establish that the ‘well-watered corridor’ was used.
This incredible map reveals the newly-discovered route that early humans took when they left Africa for Eurasia 80,000 years ago. Scientists have long believed that when the sea level was low, Homo Sapiens used a southern crossing via the Red Sea from the horn of Africa, to get to south-western Arabia. But a new study suggests there was also another passage to the north
Fascinating: The discovery of abandoned hand tools (pictured) has helped establish that the ‘well-watered corridor’ as used
Research in Arabia had previously suggested that the once green, overland route was favoured by travelling early humans heading north.
But it has taken fieldwork in Jordan’s rift valley to reinforce and confirm the theory.
Archaeologists were able to uncover hand tools, known as flakes, ‘flakes’ on the edge of wadis – now dry river channels which, tens of thousands of years ago, were full of water.
They then set about establishing the age of the sediment the tools had been buried in for tens of thousands of years.
To do this, the scientists used luminescence dating techniques to estimate how long it had been since the sediment was last exposed to light.
Their findings showed that the tools were likely to have been used around 84,000 years ago, before being abandoned on the banks of the wadis and eventually covered by the passage of time.
It is well known that modern humans evolved in Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago before migrating out of the continent in several stages to Asia and then Europe.
Paul Carling, professor of geomorphology at the University of Southampton, said: ‘It’s long been thought that when the sea level was low, humans used a southern crossing, via the Red Sea from the horn of Africa, to get to south-western Arabia.
‘However, our study confirms there was a well-trodden passage to the north, across the only land-route from Africa to Eurasia.
Changing face of the planet: Many of these rivers have since dried out in areas that are now desert lands, researchers from the University of Southampton said
Crafty: Archaeologists were able to uncover hand tools, known as flakes, ‘flakes’ on the edge of wadis – now dry river channels which, tens of thousands of years ago, were full of water
Analysis: Modern humans evolved in Africa between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago and dispersed out of the continent in several stages to then populate Asia and then Europe
Theory: Research in Arabia had previously suggested that the once green, overland route which is now desert (pictured) was favoured by travelling early humans heading north
‘Our newly published evidence is a key piece of the puzzle that shows humans migrated using a northern route – using small wetland areas as bases whilst hunting abundant wildlife in the drier grasslands.
‘Although previous studies have looked for large lakes as potential watering holes, in fact small wetlands were very important as staging posts during the migration.’
Dr Mahmoud Abbas, the study’s lead author from Shantou University, China, said: ‘The Levant acted as a well-watered corridor for modern humans to disperse out of Africa during the last interglacial, and we have now demonstrated this is the case in the Jordan Rift Valley zone.
‘The paleohydrological evidence from the Jordan desert enhances our understanding of the environmental setting at that time.
‘Rather than dry desert, savannah grasslands would have provided the much-needed resources for humans to survive during their journey out of Africa and into south-west Asia and beyond.’
The new study has been published in the journal Science Advances.
