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Humans

Early humans spread as far north as Siberia 400,000 years ago

A site in Siberia has evidence of human presence 417,000 years ago, raising the possibility that hominins could have reached North America much earlier than we thought

By Michael Le Page

19 April 2024

The archaeological site at Diring Yuriakh, Russia

Vasilij Lytkin

A site in Siberia where early humans lived has been dated to 417,000 years ago, making it by far the most ancient early human site found this far north.

“This site dramatically revises our understanding of when humans reached high latitudes,” John Jansen at the Czech Academy of Sciences told a press conference on 16 April. Other early human sites in the Arctic region are no more than 45,000 years old, he says.

Read more

The other humans: The emerging story of the mysterious Denisovans

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