A study published on June 18, 2025, in Nature said that ancient humans could live in many different and hard places before they left Africa about 50,000 years ago. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute and Loyola University Chicago looked at old places in Africa where humans lived between 120,000 and 14,000 years ago. They used weather models to understand what the land was like at that time. The study showed that around 70,000 years ago, early humans started living in more places, such as deserts and rainforests. This helped them move and live in many parts of the world.

The study did not agree with the old idea that humans left Africa because of a new tool or skill. Instead, it said that early humans were good at changing how they lived. The researchers said Homo sapiens were “ecosystem generalists.” This means they could live in many places by using food and tools around them. Other early humans like Neanderthals also left Africa, but only Homo sapiens lived in many difficult places. The study showed that this skill helped them stay alive. It also asked why Homo sapiens lived on, but other early humans did not.