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A big freeze previously unknown to science drove early humans from Europe for 200,000 years, but they adapted and returned, new research shows.
Ocean sediments from 1.1 million years ago show temperatures suddenly dropped more than 5C, scientists say.
They say our early ancestors couldn't have survived as they didn't have heating or warm clothes.
Until now, the consensus had been that humans had existed in Europe continuously for 1.5 million years.
Evidence for the big freeze is found in sediments in the seabed off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal. Layers are deposited each year which are a record of sea conditions of that period. They also contain pollen grains which are a record of vegetation on the land.
Researchers at the IBS Centre for Climate Physics in Busan, in South Korea, ran computer model simulations using data from the sediments. They found that average winter temperatures plummeted in many areas in Europe well below freezing, even in the otherwise milder Mediterranean.
A drop of this magnitude may not seem too severe by today's standards, where most have access to some heating, warm clothing and food, but that was not the case back then, according to Prof Axel Timmermann, who is director of the group.
"Early humans were not yet well adapted to cope with such extreme conditions," he said. "There is no direct evidence that they could even control fire at this time. Therefore, the extremely cold and dry conditions over Europe and the corresponding lack of food, must have greatly challenged human survival."
A big freeze previously unknown to science drove early humans from Europe for 200,000 years, but they adapted and returned, new research shows.
Ocean sediments from 1.1 million years ago show temperatures suddenly dropped more than 5C, scientists say.
They say our early ancestors couldn't have survived as they didn't have heating or warm clothes.
Until now, the consensus had been that humans had existed in Europe continuously for 1.5 million years.
Evidence for the big freeze is found in sediments in the seabed off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal. Layers are deposited each year which are a record of sea conditions of that period. They also contain pollen grains which are a record of vegetation on the land.
Researchers at the IBS Centre for Climate Physics in Busan, in South Korea, ran computer model simulations using data from the sediments. They found that average winter temperatures plummeted in many areas in Europe well below freezing, even in the otherwise milder Mediterranean.
A drop of this magnitude may not seem too severe by today's standards, where most have access to some heating, warm clothing and food, but that was not the case back then, according to Prof Axel Timmermann, who is director of the group.
"Early humans were not yet well adapted to cope with such extreme conditions," he said. "There is no direct evidence that they could even control fire at this time. Therefore, the extremely cold and dry conditions over Europe and the corresponding lack of food, must have greatly challenged human survival."
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