The prehistoric site shows that modern humans were not the first to change the world

The site dates back to 125,000 years ago in Germany and is known as Newmark Nord reveal The earliest evidence of one of our human relatives, Neanderthals, It left a permanent mark on the landscape.

It is located about 22 miles east of Leipzig, Newmark Nord was filled with small lakes during the era 130,000 to 115,000 years ago, when glaciers retreated from Europe. Archaeological evidence suggests that Neanderthals, who hunted and collectedGo to the area to take advantage of it milder weather during that period and changed its landscape through increased use.

These people hunt and slaughter animals, They produced tools, collected firewood, and set up bonfires in the Neumark Nord region for nearly 2,000 years, which in turn modified the local ecosystem during the Neanderthals’ residence, according to A study published on Wednesday in the magazine science progress.

“At first it was a wooded area, The area was opened when the Neanderthals arrived It has been open for nearly 2,000 years. Will Robrooks, Professor of Paleolithic Archeology at Leiden University in the Netherlands and lead author of the study.

Research indicates that Our species is not the first to modify its landscape.

Katrina Harvati, a paleontologist at Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen in Germany who did not participate in the study.

The new study “suggests Significant impact of human activities on ecosystemsEven by small groups of hunters and gatherers before the arrival of modern Homo sapiens.”

“It adds an important aspect to the behavior of early humans (including Neanderthals), with its impact on distant ecosystems in the past,” Although we don’t know if this is an intentional behavior intended to make and maintain an open sceneDr. Robros said.

Archaeologists first identified Neumark-Nord as a hotbed of hominin occupation in 1985. Excavations in the late 1990s expanded the site and continued between 2003 and 2008.

To confirm that it was Neanderthals that influenced this landscape 125,000 years ago, Dr. Robrox’s group compared evidence, including pollen data, found in the Newmark Nord with evidence from two lake basins. date from the same time.

by monitoring Pollen preserved in lake sedimentsResearchers reconstruct changes in local plant life over time. They found that birch and pine trees initially dominated the landscape, But they were replaced by weeds not typical of a closed canopy forest around the same time humans arrived in the area.

In the 61-acre area of ​​Newmark Nord, The researchers found dozens of clues pointing to our ancestors’ activities there throughout the year.

“Dozens and thousands of stone artifacts, hundreds of thousands of bone fragments, the remains of hundreds of animals slaughtered as a result of countless Neanderthal hunting incidents, as well as abundant traces of the use of fire,” said Dr. Robrox. The study also described charred seeds, hot stone tools, and burnt wood.

He added that the shores of the ancient Newmark Nord lakes were still “too far” from the first towns or cities.

Dr. Robrox said that while the Neanderthals who used the area may have been less mobile and may have lived in larger groups, they were still hunters and gatherers who traveled from place to place during that time between the last ice ages.

The other lakes, which are 20 to 34 miles apart, lack any significant Neanderthal presence. Pollen data showed that closed forests permanently dominate the environment there.

Neumark-Nord and the comparison lakes are located in the eastern Harz mountain region of Germany, indicating that the difference in precipitation or temperature between regions does not explain the differences in the respective landscapes.

Dr Robrox’s group said this suggested a “hominin ecological footprint” on Newmark Nord, revealing that frequent Neanderthal fires and frequent trampling of the area while hunting there may have reshaped the local vegetation.