Longstanding biogeographic patterns and the dispersal of early Homo out of Africa and into Europe

Abstract

The study of the biogeography of large mammals may contribute to the understanding of human evolution, dispersal and technological or cultural abilities. The dispersal of Homo seems to have been conditioned by the availability of relatively open landscapes. Longstanding biogeographic patterns suggest that such habitats were available in an area extending from the north of Africa and the Middle East to Central Asia. Early Homo dispersed first into the open landscapes of Asia and later, like many other mammals, it dispersed from there into Western Europe, when environmental change allowed it to do so.