@article {331310,
	title = {Humans in Africa{\textquoteright}s wet tropical forests 150 thousand years ago},
	year = {2025},
	month = {2025/02/26},
	abstract = {<p>Humans emerged across Africa shortly before 300 thousand years ago (ka)1\&ndash;3. 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 C{\^o}te d\&rsquo;Ivoire, a region of present-day rainforest. Twinned optically stimulated luminescence and electron spin resonance dating methods constrain the onset of human occupations at B{\'e}t{\'e} I to around 150\&thinsp;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\&rsquo;s forests were not a major ecological barrier for H. sapiens as early as around 150\&thinsp;ka.</p>
},
	isbn = {1476-4687},
	doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08613-y},
	url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08613-y},
	author = {Ben Arous, Eslem and Blinkhorn, James A. and Elliott, Sarah and Kiahtipes, Christopher A. and N{\textquoteright}zi, Charles D. and Bateman, Mark D. and Duval, Mathieu and Roberts, Patrick and Patalano, Robert and Blackwood, Alexander F. and Niang, Khady and Kouam{\'e}, Eug{\'e}nie Affoua and Lebato, Edith and Hallett, Emily and Cerasoni, Jacopo N. and Scott, Erin and Ilgner, Jana and Alonso Escarza, Maria Jes{\'u}s and Gu{\'e}d{\'e}, Francois Yod{\'e} and Scerri, Eleanor M. L.}
}
