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The desert is one of the harshest environments to live in. It can be extremely hot during the day and freezing cold at night. There is sparse vegetation and little shade. The terrain is often rough, and to top it all off, there is minimal water. Desert inhabitants must be adaptable to survive these harsh conditions.As humans, to thrive in desert life, we must find ways to stay hydrated, stay out of the sun, and find food and shelter. Its much easier to survive in the desert now, with modern conveniences like houses and bottled water, but it took much more of an effort for our early ancestors.Many researchers believe that it was early Homo sapiens that first adapted to life in the desert. However, a new study indicates that hominins may have adapted to desert life much earlier than previously thought.Ancient Desert DwellersFindings published by an international research team in Nature Communications Earth & Environment report that our early human relative, Homo erectus, lived in arid terrains in Eastern Africa.Evidence gathered at Engaji Nanyori in Tanzanias Oldupai Gorge shows H. erectus thrived in these arid conditions more than one million years ago, long before the emergence of H. sapiens.Now extinct, Homo erectus existed more than an estimated 1.5 million years, marking them as a species survival success in the human evolution story when compared with our own estimated existence of around 300,000 years to date, said Professor Michael Petraglia, director of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution at Griffith University, in a press release.Follow the StreamAccording to the study, researchers gathered data by testing biogeochemical, palaeoenvironmental, and archaeological evidence. The results indicated that H. erectus lived in a semi-desert environment consisting mostly of shrubland. The evidence also indicated that H. erectus likely migrated between known water sources, a key element to their survival and adaptability.Researchers uncovered specialized stone tools such as scrapers and a notched tool known as denticulates. According to the study, these tools were likely used to clean and butcher animals more efficiently.Prior to the study, experts commonly believed that these sorts of adaptations were generally associated with later hominins, such as H. sapiens.Debate has long centered on when the genus Homo acquired the adaptability to thrive in extreme environments such as deserts and rainforests, said Dr. Abel Shikoni of the University of Dodoma in Tanzania in a press release. Traditionally, only Homo sapiens was thought capable of sustained occupation in such ecosystems, with archaic hominins seen as restricted to narrower ranges.Survival of the SpeciesAccording to the study, H. erectus was the first of our ancient ancestors to have human-like proportions and the first early human species to migrate out of Africa. These adaptabilities may have contributed to their migration efforts.This adaptability likely facilitated the expansion of Homo erectus into the arid regions of Africa and Eurasia, redefining their role as ecological generalists thriving in some of the most challenging landscapes of the Middle Pleistocene, said Professor Paul Durkin of the University of Manitoba, in a press release.Adapting to an environment is a key skill for the survival of a species. While there is still much to learn about our early ancestors, these new findings may help us understand the best ways to adapt and survive in the future.Article SourcesOur writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:Nature Communications Earth & Environment. Homo erectus adapted to steppe-desert climate extremes one million years agoA graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
