Homo sapiens may have reached Europe 10,000 years earlier than previously thought

Migrations to the continent started long before Neandertals died out, new finds suggest

image of a stone point with a sharp edge

Evidence of the earliest known Homo sapiens in Europe, including this sharp-edged stone point, comes from a French rock-shelter and dates to as early as 56,800 years ago, researchers say.

L. Slimak

Stone Age Homo sapiens began migrating into Europe much longer ago than has typically been assumed.

Discoveries at a rock-shelter in southern France put H.