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

• DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw8942
• Publication Date: 2019-08-08T23:05:46Z
• Authors: Götz Ossendorf; Alexander R. Groos; Tobias Bromm; Minassie Girma Te...; Bruno Glaser; Joséphine Lesur; Joachim Schmidt; Naki Akçar; Tamrat Bekele; Alemseged Beldados; Sebsebe Demissew; Trhas Hadush Kahsay; Barbara P. Nash; Thomas Nauss; Agazi Negash; Sileshi Nemomissa; Heinz Veit; Ralf Vogelsang; Zerihun Woldu; Wolfgang Zech; Lars Opgenoorth; Georg Miehe
• Keywords: Stone Age

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