Around 1.1 million years ago, a significant North Atlantic cooling event lasting roughly 4,000 years appears to have caused the extinction of Homo erectus, an archaic human species that had colonized Europe. This frigid period rendered Europe inhospitable for early human hunter-gatherers, depriving them of food resources due to extreme glaciation. The event, comparable in intensity to ice ages, interrupted human occupation of Europe, likely leading to a considerable gap in their presence. The research, based on fossil and climate data, suggests that Homo erectus was vulnerable to environmental changes, and their extinction event is now better understood.
Early humans in Europe were killed by a cold event 1.1 million years ago
![](https://affairsace-media.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/2023/08/13203217/2023-08-10T170048Z_938850342_RC24L2A4FMPH_RTRMADP_3_SCIENCE-EXTINCTION-860x484.jpg)