Humans are unique among animals in their ability to thrive in nearly every environment on Earth — from dense rainforests to arid deserts and frozen tundras.
This remarkable adaptability dates back long before modern times. A new study published Wednesday in Nature reveals that early Homo sapiens had already developed the skills to survive in a wide range of harsh environments by locating food and resources, even before their major migration out of Africa roughly 50,000 years ago.
“Our superpower is that we are ecosystem generalists,” said Eleanor Scerri, an evolutionary archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology in Germany.
Homo sapiens first emerged in Africa about 300,000 years ago. While some early groups ventured beyond the continent earlier, widespread and lasting human settlements across the globe began with large-scale migrations around 50,000 years ago.
