Early humans reached Europe via an Ice Age land bridge from Turkey– www.popsci.com Source Link Excerpt:
It took time for ancient humans to finally arrive in present-day Europe. The common consensus is that some of the earliest Homo sapiens trekked thousands of miles from Africa and across the Middle East before reaching the Balkans. However, an archaeological team in Turkey says a major historical reassessment is required after they discovered nearly 140 Stone Age artifacts along the country’s Aegean coast. According to their study published on September 18 in the Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, early humans also crossed a now submerged land route that once linked Turkey to Europe.
The Aegean coast of Ayvalık in Turkey is composed of numerous islands and peninsulas today, but the region looked quite different 2.58 million—11,700 years ago during the Pleistocene Ice Age. During this epoch, expanses of coastal plains revealed themselves as sea levels dropped by around 330 feet. These climatic shifts allowed the formation of continual landmasses, including one that bridged Anatolia and Europe.
The landmass was exposed as sea levels dropped by as much as 330 feet during the Ice Age. Credit: Göknur, Kadriye, and Hande
“In all these periods, the present-day islands and peninsulas of Ayvalık would have formed interior zones within an expansive terrestrial environment,” study co-author Kadriye Özçelik said in a statement.
