Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08613-y
Humans in Africa’s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago
Abstract
Humans emerged across Africa shortly before
300 thousand years ago (ka). Although this
pan-African evolutionary process implicates
diverse environments in the human story, the
role of tropical forests remains poorly
understood. Here we report a clear association
between late Middle Pleistocene material
culture and a wet tropical forest in southern
Côte d’Ivoire, a region of present-day
rainforest. Twinned optically stimulated
luminescence and electron spin resonance
dating methods constrain the onset of human
occupations at Bété I to around 150 ka, linking
them with Homo sapiens. Plant wax biomarker,
stable isotope, phytolith and pollen analyses
of associated sediments all point to a wet
forest environment. The results represent the
oldest yet known clear association between
humans and this habitat type. The secure
attribution of stone tool assemblages with
the wet forest environment demonstrates that
Africa’s forests were not a major ecological
barrier for H. sapiens as early as around
150 ka.