Out of Asia

When early man entered Europe during the Lower Pleistocene, staying at the southeastern gate of the continent on the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary, he had to compete successfully with the large carnivorous species, as he depended on animal food resources. The paleoecological scene of the rich predator guild and large herbivore community of the Epivillafranchian reference horizon at Untermassfeld (Germany) provide an excellent basis for developing a plausible scenario for man’s placement in European Lower Pleistocene habitats. Only with possession of a deadly weapon would man have been able to ensure himself a place in the carnivore interspecific hierarchy enabling him to enjoy nearly unlimited large mammal food resources. Without it, no niche existed. No mammalian predator species in the Upper Villafranchian and Epivillafranchian faunas has possible African roots much later than the Middle Pliocene. In contrast, there was obvious penetration of large carnivore elements from east Asia ending in the European Epivillafranchian, as well as herbivore dispersal events from the Eurasian east to the west. For man, as an integrated member of this large mammal fauna, there should not be any real doubt that his way into Europe was out of Asia, but not out of Africa. The specific mosaic morphological pattern of early man at the southeastern gate of Europe may easily be understood in terms of a common archaic ancestor population dispersed from roots in Africa and Asia not later than about 2.5 myr ago and undergoing geographically different progressive evolution before finally starting from Asia to Europe.