New evidence discovered by scientists from Hacettepe University shows ancient humans may have traversed a presently submerged land bridge from Turkey to Europe that was temporarily exposed during the last Ice Age.
Previous studies have suggested ancient humans expanded into Europe through the Balkans and the Middle East. However, the research team behind the discovery suggests this previously undocumented Paleolithic presence in the northeastern Aegean coast of Ayvalık (present-day Turkey, and officially the Republic of Türkiye) could rewrite the story of ancient human migration from Africa and the Levant into Europe.
“Our archaeological discovery has unveiled that this now-idyllic region once potentially offered a vital land bridge for human movement during the Pleistocene era—when sea levels dropped and the now-submerged landscape was briefly exposed,” explained Dr. Göknur Karahan, from the Department of Archaeology-Prehistory, at Hacettepe University, in Turkey, and lead author of the study detailing the team’s findings.
Although modern-day Turkey and the European coast are separated by water, the sea levels dropped more than 100 meters during the last Ice Age. As a result, the islands and peninsulas of Ayvalik would have been part of a larger “land bridge” connecting the two land masses.
Professor Kadriye Özçelik, from Ankara University, a co-author of the study, said that the segments of the land bridge still above water today would have formed interior zones “within an expansive terrestrial environment.” In theory, these zones could have supported ancient humans as they crossed the land bridge.
Unfortunately, environmental processes and the depth of the submerged areas have made the discovery of remains on the ancient land bridge and its modern-day coastlines extremely difficult. In their published study, the authors write that “the widespread, muddy cover was considered a limiting factor for the preservation and detectability of Paleolithic materials.”
Undaunted, the research team performed a two-week survey of the area’s exposed coastlines in June 2022, with hopes of finding evidence of human occupation during the last Ice Age. According to the team’s statement, this involved exploring often muddy sites on foot, especially in lowlands and basins.
After completing the two-week survey, the team had collected 138 lithic artifacts from 10 different sites across a 200km² region. Among the finds were Levallois-style flake tools often associated with Neanderthal and Early Homo sapiens from this period or earlier. This type of stone technology is considered by archaeologists and anthropologists as part of a larger Mousterian tradition, which would seemingly link the coastal area to the broader Middle East and Africa.
“These large cutting tools are among the most iconic artefacts of the Paleolithic and are instantly recognizable even today, so are a very important find,” Dr. Karahan explained.
“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.”
The team also discovered what they described as “high-quality raw material sources” in the area. According to the statement, these sources included both flint and chalcedony, which they say were found in several locations, “including areas affected by alluvial deposition.”
Given the challenges associated with a survey of this kind, Dr. Karahan said discovering the first stone tools was a “truly unforgettable moment,” and each discovery after that was “a moment of excitement for the whole team.”
“Holding the first tools in our hands was both emotional and inspiring,” the researcher explained. “Holding these objects —after walking across landscapes where no one had ever documented Paleolithic remains before— was unforgettable.”
The team suggests that future surveys that include more detailed excavations could help fill in the missing clues to the possible crossing of ancient humans from Turkey to Europe. Study co-author, Professor Kadriye Özçelik, from Ankara University, said the discovery of Ice Age artifacts on the edges of a submerged land bridge marks Ayvalik as “a potential new frontier in the story of human evolution, placing it firmly on the map of human prehistory.” The professor also suggested that the findings could open up “a new possibility for how early humans may have entered Europe.”
“It feels like we are adding an entirely new page to the story of human dispersal,” Özçelik said. “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.”
Dr Karahan agreed, noting that the discovery of a substantial number of Ice Age artifacts hinting at an ancient human crossing paints “a vivid picture of early human adaptation, innovation, and mobility along the Aegean.”
“The results confirmed that Ayvalık – which had never before been studied for its Paleolithic potential – holds vital traces of early human activity,” the researcher added.
Study co-author Dr Hande Bulut, from Düzce University, believes the team’s findings show that the region between the North Aegean and the Anatolian mainland may still hold “valuable clues” to early human occupation, “despite the challenges posed by active geomorphological processes.”
“Ultimately, the results underline Ayvalık’s potential as a long-term hominin habitat and a key area for understanding Paleolithic technological features in the eastern Aegean,” Bulut said. “While preliminary, the current findings underscore the region’s potential to contribute to broader debates on Aegean connectivity and technological evolution during the Pleistocene.
The study “Discovering the Paleolithic Ayvalık: A Strategic Crossroads in Early Human Dispersals Between Anatolia and Europe” was published in The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology.
Christopher Plain is a Science Fiction and Fantasy novelist and Head Science Writer at The Debrief. Follow and connect with him on X, learn about his books at plainfiction.com, or email him directly at christopher@thedebrief.org.