A team of scientists climbed the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia and found evidence of life. He found that in the distant past, people lived and survived at higher altitudes. It happened so much earlier than originally thought. We already know that a human species known as the Denys spent some time in high-altitude caves in China 167 years ago. However, we did not know how people from our own species Homosapiens were doing with the ascent and life at higher altitudes. Now, thanks to scientists, we have a good idea. On the place Finch Haver (11 000 stop above sea level), Cologne archaeologist Götz Ossendorf and his colleagues found evidence of people and human settlement.

Evidence of life at very high altitudes

The 300 rock shelters with signs of fire suggest that many people have come here for thousands of years, even though higher altitudes have been and still are dangerous for even the best-equipped people. "Hypoxia (lack of oxygen in the body *) at high altitudes severely limits every aspect of human life, especially in combination with other stressors such as low and changing temperatures, aridity and higher levels of UV radiation."

But this did not stop people from getting higher. This was the first time around 47 000 years ago - scientists were able to refine this figure by analyzing the remains of coal in the caves. So it seems that these people really thrived in the mountains, so they had enough resources to build what we would refer to today as a habitable area, where large groups - 20 to 25 people - slept, prepared food, produced tools, imported resources, etc. ”Even more impressive is that people lived like this when the mountains were covered with ice.

Resources needed to live

In similar places, people usually moved to lower altitudes when the mountains were covered with ice. However, this area is different. Here people stayed. Although there was ice everywhere, it was also warm, allowing melting and a source of water. The site was also rich in volcanic obsidians, from which people made tools and weapons. The food was a bald snout and also Rodent.

Rodent large

This finding therefore gives us the hope that important archaeological discoveries may be found not only in the lowlands, but also in the highest places on Earth.