Early humans may have walked from Türkiye to mainland Europe
While it has long been thought that early humans arrived in mainland Europe from Africa via the Middle East and the Balkans, a new study hypothesises that they may have also moved through Ayvalık, Türkiye.
The study, published in the Journal of Island and Coast Archaeology, presents 138 lithic or stone artifacts discovered in Ayvalık which indicate early hominins may have been living in the region.
The archaeological findings suggest that early hominins may have been able to cross between present-day Europe and Türkiye on continuous landmasses that are now submerged beneath the Aegean Sea.
“We are very excited and delighted with this discovery,” says author of the study, Dr Göknur Karahan, from Hacettepe University in Türkiye.
“These findings mark Ayvalık as a potential new frontier in the story of human evolution, placing it firmly on the map of human prehistory – opening up a new possibility for how early humans may have entered Europe.”
Today, Ayvalık sits on the coast of the Aegean Sea.
But during the last ice age, which lasted from 115,000 to 11,700 years ago during the Pleistocene Era, sea levels dropped by over 100m. This would have revealed a bridge-like landmass between mainland Europe and Anatolia, the Turkish peninsula.
“In all these periods, the present-day islands and peninsulas of Ayvalık would have formed interior zones within an expansive terrestrial environment,” says co-author Professor Kadriye Özçelik from Ankara University, Türkiye.
“These paleogeographic reconstructions underscore the importance of the region for understanding hominin dispersals across the northeastern Aegean during the Pleistocene.”
The tools discovered in this study were located across the modern-day coastline. Their presence provides evidence that early humans were living and moving across these environments.
Throughout their survey of the land, the team came across Palaeolithic, or Stone Age, tools including 4 handaxes, a cleaver, a scraper and other Levallois flaking stones that shaped flint into tools.
“The presence of these objects in Ayvalık is particularly significant, as they provide direct evidence that the region was part of wider technological traditions shared across Africa, Asia, and Europe,” says Karahan.
“These large cutting tools are among the most iconic artefacts of the Palaeolithic and are instantly recognisable even today, so are a very important find.”
The items were found across 10 sites covering an area of around 200km2. While the team only explored the area for 15 days, they hope their discoveries encourage further research in the area.
“Ultimately the results underline Ayvalık’s potential as a long-term hominin habitat and a key area for understanding Palaeolithic technological features in the eastern Aegean,” says Dr Hande Bulut, a co-author of the study from Düzce University, Türkiye.
“Excitingly, the region between the North Aegean and the Anatolian mainland may still hold valuable clues to early occupation despite the challenges posed by active geomorphological processes.”
The team recommends future studies use a multidisciplinary approach that combines absolute dating, stratigraphic excavation and paleoenvironmental reconstruction to build a richer picture of Ayvalık’s history.
“The findings paint a vivid picture of early human adaptation, innovation, and mobility along the Aegean,” says Karahan.
“It feels like we are adding an entirely new page to the story of human dispersal.
“Our research raises exciting possibilities for future exploration, and we hope it emerges as a body of work that will shift the approach of Pleistocene archaeology for decades to come.”
