Credit: Ylvers
125,000 years ago, hunter-gathers changed the ecology. The findings of an interdisciplinary study were done by archeologists from Leiden University. Neanderthals used fire to keep the landscape open and had a big impact on the environment. Science Advances will publish the study on December 15.
Archeologists have long been asking questions about the character and temporal depth of human intervention in our planet's ecosystems. "We are increasingly seeing very early, weak signs of this," says Wil Roebroeks, Archeology professor.
The signs proved stronger in research at a lignite quarry. Archeological research has been done at Neumark-Nord in the last few decades, and there are traces of Neanderthal activities found. The remains of hundreds of slaughtered animals, surrounded by stone tools and a huge amount of charcoal, were found.
It is open for 2,000 years.
The forest area where the traces were found was a place where horses, deer and cattle were preyed on. The forest stretched from the Netherlands to Poland. Neanderthals have been found on the edges of some lakes, and in several places in the area. The closed forest made way for large open spaces due to fires when Neanderthals turned up there.
The question is whether it became open because of the arrival of hominins or if it was open because of the arrival of other animals. We found enough evidence to conclude that hunter-gatherers kept the area open for at least 2,000 years. The dense forest vegetation was largely intact at the lakes where the same animals were roaming, but there were no Neanderthals.
Humans began to shape their environment about 10,000 years ago when they began cutting down trees to create fields, but it was thought to be only when they started farming about 10,000 years ago. Neumark-Nord is believed to be the earliest example of intervention on a smaller scale. The new research findings are important for archeology and other disciplines. It adds to the behavioral spectrum of early hunter-gatherers. They weren't just a group of people who hunted and picked fruit in the landscape. They helped shape the landscape.
The impact of fire.
The knowledge about fire was passed down by hominins at least 400,000 years ago, according to a previous study. We shouldn't be surprised if we find traces that indicate that hominins had a major impact on the environment much earlier.
Landscape modification by Last Interglacial Neanderthals is more information. There is a DOI for this.
Science Advances has journal information.
Neanderthals changed their ecosystems 125,000 years ago.
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