Middle Stone Age foragers resided in high elevations of the glaciated Bale Mountains, Ethiopia

Abstract

Studies of early human settlement in alpine environments provide insights into human physiological, genetic, and cultural adaptation potentials. Although Late and even Middle Pleistocene human presence has been recently documented on the Tibetan Plateau, little is known regarding the nature and context of early persistent human settlement in high elevations. Here, we report the earliest evidence of a prehistoric high-altitude residential site. Located in Africa’s largest alpine ecosystem, the repeated occupation of Fincha Habera rock shelter is dated to 47 to 31 thousand years ago. The available resources in cold and glaciated environments included the exploitation of an endemic rodent as a key food source, and this played a pivotal role in facilitating the occupation of this site by Late Pleistocene hunter-gatherers.

The impact of hypoxaemia on vascular function in lowlanders and high altitude indigenous populations

“…More recent estimates suggest that humans have populated the Ethiopian highlands anywhere from 500 to 70,000 years ago (Lewis, ; Hassen, ; Aldenderfer, ; Pleurdeau, ; Aldenderfer, ; Simonson, ; Ossendorf et al . ). Despite the possibility that humans or hominids have ventured to high altitudes in East Africa much earlier than Tibetans or Andeans, very little is known regarding the physiological phenotype of Amhara people residing in and around the Simien Mountains.…”

“…Historical records indicate that the Oromo tribe of Ethiopia has only been settled in the highlands for ß500 years (Hassen, 1990;Lewis, 1966); however, the Amhara tribe has been living at altitude for potentially up to 70,000 years based on archaeological evidence (Aldenderfer, 2003;Pleurdeau, 2005;Aldenderfer, 2006;Simonson, 2015;Ossendorf, 2019). Humans are thought to have occupied the Tibetan plateau for ß30,000-40,000 years (Zhang et al 2018), and eventually crossed a land bridge that once connected present day Russia and Alaska, which facilitated North and South American settlement and eventual migration to the Andes ß7000-10,000 years ago (Aldenderfer, 2008;Haas et al 2017). technique has yet to be completed at high altitude likely due to its invasive nature and need for adequate highly trained medical support.…”

“…Evidence for the occupancy of the Ethiopian highlands is elusive; however, artifacts, presumably from Homo erectus/ergaster, have been found at altitudes of 2300-2400 m along the rim of the Rift Valley dating back to 1.5 million years ago (Clark & Kurashina, 1979;Williams et al 1979;de la Torre, 2011). More recent estimates suggest that humans have populated the Ethiopian highlands anywhere from 500 to 70,000 years ago (Lewis, 1966;Hassen, 1990;Aldenderfer, 2003;Pleurdeau, 2005;Aldenderfer, 2006;Simonson, 2015;Ossendorf et al 2019). Despite the possibility that humans or hominids have ventured to high altitudes in East Africa much earlier than Tibetans or Andeans, very little is known regarding the physiological phenotype of Amhara people residing in and around the Simien Mountains.…”

Temperature-related disasters in Europe – a cross-sectional analysis of the emergency events database from a pediatric perspective

“…37 From an evolutionary point of view, our species originated in the hot climates of Africa between 300,000-200,000 years ago, 38,39 with the typical linear physique (tall and lean) of early Homo sapiens clearly indicative of heat-related adaptations. 36,40 Recent archaeological studies of our deep history between 40,000-10,000 years show that as Homo sapiens was expanding around the globe, and well before the origins of agriculture and a sedentary lifestyle, these populations were able to inhabit both high-altitude and cold places such as the Peruvian Andes, the glacial Bale mountains of Ethiopia and Arctic Siberia [41][42][43] but also hot rainforest and desert environments. 44,45 Some concomitant physiological adaptations to extreme temperatures throughout the last 100,000 years are also indicated by DNA, aDNA and anatomical research.…”

Molecular Mechanism of Functional Ingredients in Barley to Combat Human Chronic Diseases

“…The earliest modern human originate from Ethiopia and Morocco are dated to~190 Ka and~315 Ka (Figure 2), respectively [208]. The earliest human occupied high-altitude habitats in the Andes and the Tibetan Plateau, especially Late Pleistocene humans adapted to the severe environments of these glaciated above 4,000-meter elevation 14 Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity in the Bale Mountains of Ethiopia ( Figure 2) [209]. Neanderthals in modern-day Iraq and Belgium ate grasses, cooked barley grains, and others.…”