London - African cavemen began colonising the rest of the world 30,000 years earlier than previously thought, experts claim.
Archaeologists have discovered a trove of stone tools which prove that humans made their way out of Africa more than 100,000 years ago - previously thought to be between 40,000 and 70,000 years ago.
The team, led by Dr Jeffrey Rose of Birmingham University, found sharp tools at more than 100 sites in what is now Oman, in the Arabian Peninsula. The tools are from the Nubian, or Middle Stone Age period, evidence of which has previously only been found in central Africa.
The discovery is a breakthrough for scientists investigating how humans spread around the world. Dr Rose said: “At long last we’ve found the smoking gun of our exit from Africa.”
The toolmakers entered Arabia 106,000 years ago if not earlier, the team said, and were probably humans rather than Neanderthals. - Daily Mail