Earliest Modern Humans in Europe

Cool science news via ScienceDaily.

Human artifacts dating back 45,000 years have been found in Russia at an excavation along the Don River. It is the earliest find of human artifacts in Europe, and shows evidence of a long distance trade network.

"The excavation took place at Kostenki, a group of more than 20 sites along the Don River that have been under study for many decades. Kostenki previously has yielded anatomically modern human bones and artifacts dating between 30,000 and 40,000 years old, including the oldest firmly dated bone and ivory needles with eyelets that indicate the early inhabitants were tailoring animal furs to help them survive the harsh climate. Most of the stone used for artifact construction was imported from between 60 miles and 100 miles away, while the perforated shell ornaments discovered at the lowest levels of the Kostenki dig were imported from the Black Sea more than 300 miles away"

These are the earliest human finds outside of Africa and Australia, which has finds dating back 50,000 years ago. The importance of the finds are that it shows humans innovating quite well to adapt to a colder climate, and also shows indications that they were expanding their food sources utilizing both fishing and hunting small game with snares and traps, in addition to hunting big game and gathering plants. An ivory artifact thought to be the head of a small figurine found at the site might be the oldest example of decorative art ever discovered, at over 40,000 years.