List of first human settlements

This is a list of dates associated with the prehistoric peopling of the world (the first known presence of Homo sapiens).

The list is divided into four categories: Middle Paleolithic (before 50,000 years ago), Upper Paleolithic (50,000 to 12,500 years ago), Holocene (12,500 to 500 years ago) and Modern (Age of Sail and modern exploration). List entries are identified by region (in the case of genetic evidence spatial resolution is limited), country or island, with the date of the first known or hypothesised modern human presence (or "settlement", although Paleolithic humans were not sedentary).

Human "settlement" does not necessarily have to be continuous; settled areas in some cases become depopulated due to environmental conditions, such as glacial periods or the Toba volcanic eruption. Early Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa from as early as 270,000 years ago, although these early migrations may have died out and permanent Homo sapiens presence outside Africa may not have been established until about 70–50,000 years ago.

Middle Paleolithic

Before Homo sapiens, Homo erectus had already spread throughout Africa and non-Arctic Eurasia by about one million years ago. The oldest known evidence for anatomically modern humans () are fossils found at Jebel Irhoud, Morocco, dated to about 360,000 years old. Region Country Date (kya) PlaceNotesRef(s)Africa, North Africa Morocco Jebel IrhoudAnatomically modern human remains of eight individuals dated 300,000 years old, making them the oldest known remains categorized as "modern" ().Asia, West AsiaTurkey Neanderthal admixtureGenetic evidence for early Homo sapiens admixture to Neanderthals in West Asia, discovered in 2017.; a related citation is: Asia, South Asia India South IndiaQuartzite tools excavated at Attirampakkam were dated back to 250,000-385,000 years old. Africa, Horn of Africa Ethiopia Omo Kibish FormationThe Omo remains of modern humans found in 1967 near the Ethiopian Kibish Mountains, dated stratigraphically to 195 ± 5 ka, may be related to Ledi-Geraru. Asia, West Asia Israel Misliya Cave, Mount CarmelFossil maxilla is apparently older than remains found at Skhyul and Qafzeh. Layers dating from between 250,000 and 140,000 years ago in the same cave contained tools of the Levallois type, which could put the date of the first migration even earlier if the tools can be associated with the modern human jawbone finds.Africa, Southern AfricaSouth Africa Klasies River Caves, population geneticsRemains found in the Klasies River Caves in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa show signs of human hunting dated c. 125 ka. There is some debate as to whether these remains represent anatomically modern humans. Evidence from population genetics suggests separation before 110 ka, most likely between 130 and 200 ka.point estimate 168.5 ka (136.3–201.1 ka 95% CI) according to (table 2). 150 ka suggested in:. Age estimates (ka, 95% CI in angular brackets): ML whole-mtDNA age estimate: 128.2 [95% CI: 107.9–148.9], ρ whole-mtDNA age estimate: 121.3 [99.2;143.7], ρ synonymous age estimate (ka): 131.0 [97.8;164.2]:Africa, East Africa Sudan SingaAnatomically modern human discovered 1924 with rare temporal bone pathologyAsia, West Asia, ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates 125Jebel FayaStone tools made by anatomically modern humans (discovered 2011).Asia, West Asia, ArabiaOman AybutTools found in the Dhofar Governorate correspond with African objects from the so-called 'Nubian Complex', dating from 75 to 125,000 years ago. According to archaeologist Jeffrey I. Rose, human settlements spread east from Africa across the Arabian Peninsula. Africa, Central AfricaDemocratic Republic of the Congo Katanda, Upper Semliki RiverSemliki harpoon heads carved from bone.Asia, South AsiaIndia Central IndiaArchaeological excavation carried out in the trenches at Dhaba in the upper Son river valley found stone tools and other evidences of human occupation in this area 80,000 years back. Asia, East AsiaChina, PRC Fuyan CaveTeeth were found under rock over which 80,000 years old stalagmites had grown. Africa, North AfricaLibya Haua FteahFragments of 2 mandibles discovered in 1953Asia, South AsiaSri Lanka population geneticsGenetic evidence suggests first settlement 70–66 kya. Available fossil evidence from Sri Lanka has been dated to 34 kya."Genetic diversity in present-day India is second only to that in Africa and implies settlement soon after humans left Africa. Dispersal across Eurasia from Africa to India was often previously estimated to have occurred between 45,000 and 59,000 years ago, but a recent proposal [Kumar et al. 2008] of 66,000 to 70,000 years ago"Asia, Southeast AsiaSumatra, Indonesia Lida Ajer caveTeeth found in Sumatra in the 19th centuryAsia, Southeast AsiaLuzon, Philippines Callao Cave Mijares and Piper (2010) found bones in a cave near Peñablanca, Cagayan, originally thought to be modern human. However, these were subsequently dated ca. 134 kya, belonging to a different species, Homo luzonensis.Rainer Grün, Chris Stringer, Direct dating of human fossils and the ever-changing story of human evolution. Quaternary Science Reviews, Volume 322, 2023, 108379, ISSN 0277-3791Africa, North AfricaEgypt Taramasa HillSkeleton of 8- to 10-year-old child discovered in 1994AustraliaArnhem Land, Australia MadjedbebeThe oldest human skeletal remains are the 40ky old Lake Mungo remains in New South Wales, but human ornaments discovered at Devil's Lair in Western Australia have been dated to 48 kya and artifacts at Madjedbebe in Northern Territory are dated to at least 50 kya, and to (95% CI) in one 2017 study. "settlement of Madjedbebe around 65 ka (conservatively 59.3 ka, calculated as 65.0 ka minus the age uncertainty of 5.7 kyr at 95.4%)" While the age of 50,000 years has been widely accepted since the 1990s, this latter estimate has, as of 2017, not found general acceptance among experts, e.g.

Upper Paleolithic

Region Country / island Date (kya) PlaceNotesRef(s)South AmericaNortheast Region, Brazil Pedra FuradaHypothetical Pleistocene peopling of the Americas: charcoal from the oldest layers yielded dates of 41,000–56,000 BP.Asia, East AsiaHonshu, Japan Lake NojiriGenetic research indicates arrival of humans in Japan by 37,000 BP. Archeological remains at the Tategahana Paleolithic Site at Lake Nojiri have been dated as early as 47,000 BP.Asia, Southeast Asia, IndochinaLaos Tam Pa Ling CaveIn 2009 an ancient skull was recovered from a cave in the Annamite Mountains in northern Laos which is at least 46,000 years old, making it the oldest modern human fossil found to date in Southeast AsiaEurope The earliest known remains of Cro-Magnon-like humans are radiocarbon dated to 43,000–46,000 BP, found in Bulgaria, Italy, and Great Britain.EuropeBulgaria Bacho Kiro caveA tooth and six bone fragments are the earliest modern human remains yet found in Europe. EuropeItaly Grotta del Cavallo, ApuliaTwo baby teeth discovered in Apulia in 1964. EuropeGreat Britain, United Kingdom Kents CavernHuman jaw fragment found in Torquay, Devon in 1927 EuropeGermany Geißenklösterle, Baden-Württemberg Three Paleolithic flutes belonging to the early Aurignacian, which is associated with the assumed earliest presence of Homo sapiens in Europe (Cro-Magnon). It is the oldest example of prehistoric music.Europe, BalticLithuania near Gargždai A hammer made from reindeer horn similar to those used by the Bromme culture was found in 2016. The discovery pushed back the earliest evidence of human presence in Lithuania by 30,000 years, i.e. to before the last glacial period. Asia, Southeast AsiaEast Timor Jerimalai caveFish bones AustraliaTasmania Jordan River LeveeOptically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 41,000 BP. Rising sea level left Tasmania isolated after 8000 BP.Asia, Southeast AsiaBorneo, Malaysia Niah CaveA human skull in Sarawak, Borneo (Archaeologists have claimed a much earlier date for stone tools found in the Mansuli valley, near Lahad Datu in Sabah, but precise dating analysis has not yet been published.)Asia, Southeast AsiaNew Guinea Indonesian Side of New GuineaArchaeological evidence shows that 40,000 years ago, some of the first farmers came to New Guinea from the South-East Asian Peninsula. EuropeRomania Peștera cu Oase Asia, East AsiaHong Kong, PRC Wong Tei TungOptically stimulated luminescence results from the site suggest a date ca. 39,000 BP.EuropeRussia Mamontovaya Kurya Earliest evidence of human (not necessarily anatomically modern humans) presence at Arctic latitudes.Asia, Central Asia, Tibetan PlateauTibet, PRC Salween River Formerly dated to 15 kya, the date modern human presence in Tibet has been pushed back to at least 38 kya based on genetic evidence. Archaeological evidence from the bank of the Salween River in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau was dated between 32 and 39 kya. Jane Qiu, The Surprisingly Early Settlement of the Tibetan Plateau, Scientific American, 1 March 2017.Asia, South AsiaSri Lanka Fa Hien CaveThe earliest remains of anatomically modern man, based on radiocarbon dating of charcoal, have been found in the Fa Hien Cave in western Sri Lanka.North AmericaCanada Bluefish CavesHypothetical Pleistocene peopling of the Americas: Human-worked mammoth bone flakes found at Bluefish Caves, Yukon.Asia, East AsiaOkinawa Yamashita-cho cave, Naha cityBone artifacts and an ash seam dated to 32,000±1000 BP.EuropeFrance Chauvet CaveThe cave paintings in the Chauvet Cave in southern France have been called the earliest known cave art, though the dating is uncertain.EuropeCzech Republic Mladeč cavesOldest human bones that clearly represent a human settlement in Europe.EuropePoland Obłazowa CaveA boomerang made from mammoth tuskAsia, Southeast AsiaBuka Island, New Guinea Kilu CaveFlaked stone, bone, and shell artifactsAsia, East AsiaTaiwan, Republic of China In 1972, fragmentary fossils of anatomically modern humans were found at Chouqu and Gangzilin, in Zuojhen District, Tainan, in fossil beds exposed by erosion of the Cailiao River. Though some of the fragments are believed to be more recent, three cranial fragments and a molar tooth have been dated as between 20,000 and 30,000 years old. The find has been dubbed "Zuozhen Man". No associated artifacts have been found at the site.EuropePortugal Abrigo do Lagar VelhoPossible Neanderthal/Cro-Magnon hybrid, the Lapedo childNorth AmericaUnited States Lake OteroHuman footprints in White Sands National Park in New Mexico. Stone, bone, and wood artifacts and animal and plant remains dating to 16,000 BP in Meadowcroft Rockshelter, Washington County, Pennsylvania. (Earlier claims have been made, but not corroborated, for 50,000 BP at sites such as Topper, South Carolina.)Heinz History Center: Rockshelter Artifacts , Heinz History Center. Pittsburgh, PA. Retrieved 19 June 2012.EuropeSicily San Teodoro caveHuman cranium dated by gamma-ray spectrometrySouth AmericaChile Monte VerdeCarbon dating of remains from this site represent the oldest known settlement in South America.South AmericaPeru PikimachayStone and bone artifacts found in a cave of the Ayacucho complexNorth AmericaSanta Rosa Island Arlington Springs siteArlington Springs Man discovered in 1959. The four northern Channel Islands of California were once conjoined into one island, Santa Rosae

Holocene