For decades, scientists believed ancient humans avoided dense rainforests — too dangerous, too dark, too hard to survive. A groundbreaking discovery in West Africa has just blown that theory apart.
Researchers uncovered evidence that early humans were living in a tropical rainforest in present-day Côte d’Ivoire 150,000 years ago — twice as old as any previous rainforest habitation record.
Rewriting the human story
The discovery challenges a core assumption in paleoanthropology: that our species evolved mainly in open savannas and grasslands. Rainforests were thought to be barriers to early human expansion — places you passed around, not lived in.
«This find fundamentally changes our understanding of human ecological flexibility,» said the lead researcher. «Homo sapiens weren’t just savanna specialists — they were rainforest survivors.»
The team found stone tools deep in ancient sediment layers, dated using optically stimulated luminescence. The tools show signs of long-term occupation — not a brief pass-through.
Based on research published May 20, 2026.
